Mystery Dungeon: Flames of Hope
by Chars of the Past
Summary: A mysterious entity plagues the horizon, and the world's hope rests in the hands of a young Cyndaquil. When he embarks on his journey, will he be able to succeed?
1. Prologue: Escape

A scream came from the distance. "Clyde! We're under attack!"

The Greninja, panicked, retreated into his quarters, and pulled out a pen and some paper.

_Dear son,  
_

_I'm sorry that I had to leave you, all alone. I will just have to hope that I make it out of this in one piece._

"Clyde! Get out of there!" Cries echoed from outside the window, and the Greninja could feel the terrible quakes coming from the outside.

_I don't have a lot of time left, so I'll make this quick._ The Greninja looked out the window, and saw his enemies coming closer to the fortress. _I love you, son, just remember that. Remember your brave father that fought to make you happy. I'm sorry that I might not make it back, and I'm sorry that you will have to be by yourself, but stay strong, and stay true to yourself._ The Greninja flinched as smoke filled the room following an uproar of tremors. The Greninja, struggling to his seat, attempted to pick the quill back up and continue writing. _Please, remember me, son, and don't forget who you are. My last wish for you is to be happy, that's all I ask. Please–_

"Clyde! Watch out!"

The Greninja turned to the window. He saw a gigantic ball of orange light coming towards him, and before he had the chance to move, the sphere of flames collided with the side of the building.

The Greninja fell to the floor, his letter charred, with flames covering the material. The Greninja quickly put the flames out, attempting to salvage as much of his writing as he could. He wrapped a long, yellow-brown cloth around the burned, black paper, and whistled for the mail carrier, a Pelipper.

"Take this, and give this to my son, back at the Great Safari." The Greninja rushed to hand the Pelipper the letter, and the Pelipper flew away.

The Greninja watched the Pelipper fly off into the distance, and looked down from the enormous hole in the room. He watched the enemy march closer to his position. _Please let it arrive safely_, he pleaded. The Greninja jumped to help his comrades combat their foes.

* * *

_Escape._ That's all the young Cyndaquil could think. _I'm not going back there._

* * *

The Cyndaquil flashed back to the previous day: the day he received a letter.

There was a knock on the door. The Cyndaquil answered. There, a Pelipper stuck a letter out of his beak. "Mail." The Pelipper gave the letter to the young Cyndaquil. It was from his father. The Cyndaquil opened the letter and began to read it. The letter was burnt, with parts too damaged to make out any words.

_ar so__,_

_'m __o__y __ad __o leave you, __ alone. I __ll __ave __ hope t__t I __ t__ in __e pi__. I d__ ' __ have __ time __, __ ma__is q__k. I __ you, __, __ re__e__be__ t__. Remember __r b__ f__er th__ f__t __ m__ y__p__. __ ' __ sorry __ I mig__t n__t m__k__ it b__ck, a__ I'__ s__ry th__t __u w__l h__ t__e __ y__u__l__, b__ stay str__, __d st__ tru__ y__f. __, remember __me__, __, __n__ don__ for__et __. __ last wish __ be happy, th__ ' __l __k. Please_

"…What is this…?" The Cyndaquil stared at the letter, unable to make out the message. The only thing that seemed to stand out was the phrase; _remember me_, something that the Cyndaquil seemed to be upset about. "Is this…?"

The Pelipper nodded, sadly. "I'd… better get back to my job. Have a nice day, kid." The Pelipper saluted the kid, and flew away, leaving the young Cyndaquil to cry, silently.

"Dad…"

* * *

The Cyndaquil ran through the woods, while the skies cried for the little Pokemon, and the gods roared with anger. _Why, dad, why did you have to leave me?_ Stream of tears were concealed as the young Cyndaquil rushed through the storm, through the woods absent of any light, trying to evade his pursuers.

"Wait, Cinder! Come back!" One of his pursuers, a Scyther, called for the Cyndaquil. "You'll get hurt out here!"

The other pursuer, an Altaria, also called for the Cyndaquil. "The storm is getting worse! Please come back before something happens to you!"

"I can handle myself!" the Cyndaquil answered to his chasers.

The Scyther started to catch up to the Cyndaquil. Thunder crashed down from the heavens, and the winds were getting more severe. "Come back here before you get hurt!" the Scyther demanded.

The Cyndaquil shook his head, refusing to go back. "I don't want to go back! Not without Dad!"

* * *

The young Pokemon remembered the times he had with his dad, starting from the beginning, when they first met.

His father, Clyde, a Greninja that worked as a rescuer, was walking through the woods after a long mission. He was exhausted, and he was just informed that his son just perished due to his illness. "Fuck my life!" Clyde screamed to the air. "What is my life worth if everything around me… just comes crashing down…" Clyde stopped to take a break next to some oddly-burnt bushes.

Clyde examined the bushes, noticing the black tint present on the local environment. "Was there a forest fire here earlier?" Clyde got up and began to search for any signs of life. "Hopefully everyone got out safely."

Clyde entered the forest, and found a village full of victims; there were many Pokemon, looking for their friends and family, under the burnt rubble of the village. Clouds of smoke filled the air, and the little ones had a look of fear as they called out for their parents.

When Clyde asked around, they revealed that some families left right after the fire started, while others have been missing since the fires died down. Clyde gave them help with the rescue effort, but was unable to find any other survivors. Instead, he found charred bodies of many types of Pokemon, one he thought he almost recognized. But Clyde dismissed it as a hoax, and continued to search, search for anyone who still breathed.

As the sun began to set, Clyde said his goodbyes and condolences to the villagers. As Clyde began to walk through the charred forest again, he remembered his young son… his lost son. "Am I cursed? Why does _everything_ around me get bad luck?"

Clyde looked up as he was walking, and tripped over a small body. "What the?" Clyde fell to the ground, his skull crashing down to the ground, and looked. He saw a little Cyndaquil unconscious on the floor. "Hey, wake up!" Clyde crawled up to the Cyndaquil and started to shake the Cyndaquil softly. When the Cyndaquil awoke, Clyde was relieved. "Hey, are you okay?"

The Cyndaquil looked around, confused and groggy. "Where am I?"

Clyde sighed with relief. "Good, you're okay. Now where are your parents, little guy?"

The Cyndaquil looked at Clyde, confused. He then turned to his surroundings, trying to remember where he is. The Cyndaquil then shook his head. "I don't know."

"Well, where are you from?"

"I don't know."

Clyde looked back at the direction of the village. Smoke still filled the skies above. "Hey, come with me for a second." Clyde stuck his hand out to the young Pokemon, but the Cyndaquil backed away, scared of the stranger standing in front of him. "It's okay, I don't bite."

The Cyndaquil turned away, and carefully, and slowly, grabbed one of the Greninja's fingers.

Clyde took the Cyndaquil back to the village. Most of the burnt down buildings have been cleared, but the damage to still standing homes were still present, reminding the villagers of the awfully tragic fire. "Do you recognize this place?"

The Cyndaquil shook his head. "No." The Cyndaquil retreated his hand from Clyde's, and started to fidget with them.

Clyde worriedly looked at the Cyndaquil. "What do you remember, then?"

"Well…" The Cyndaquil paused to think. He tapped his head, trying to jump start his own memory. "All I can remember is my name."

The Cyndaquil looked down in sadness, and Clyde patted his head. "Well, tell me your name."

"Cinder."

"Cinder… Alright, Cinder, let's find your family."

Cinder's face lit up. "Really?"

Clyde nodded. "First, let's start by asking around." Clyde extended his hand towards Cinder. "Come on, let's go." Cinder, at first, was reluctant to take his hand, but did so, knowing that he can trust the Greninja.

Clyde took Cinder to talk to the villagers, most of which were too concerned for their own families to answer whether they knew Cinder. After asking dozens of families, a Linoone finally told Clyde the information they needed. But by that time, Clyde had let Cinder take a quick nap, as the Cyndaquil was getting tired from walking around. "Yeah, I know that Cyndaquil. Family used to live in that house by the edge of the forest. But you wouldn't want to take him there."

Clyde turned to the sleeping Cyndaquil, and asked, "Why not?"

"His family is dead," the Linoone told Clyde. "We found the bodies this morning. Their bodies are now in the cemetery in the outskirts of town."

Clyde turned back to Cinder, speechless, trying to find the words he wanted to use. "Thanks a lot, Linoone. That is all the information I needed."

The Linoone nodded. "Glad I can help. Hopefully someone will take that Cyndaquil in, but I don't think anyone around here would be able to support him right now, especially since the fire burnt everything down." He started to run back to work, but turned quickly back to the Greninja. "By the way, thanks for your help earlier."

Clyde didn't bother to look back at the Linoone. "No problem."

"I wish you luck, with the Cyndaquil. Ya know, he's a weird one."

Clyde's head jerked towards the direction of the Linoone, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well," he continued, "that Cyndaquil has an unusual trait. Something that the village keeps to itself." The Linoone seemed hesitant to tell Clyde the rest of his thoughts. "That Cyndaquil's flames… They're not normal."

Clyde looked at the Linoone with confusion. "What do you mean, not normal?"

"You probably won't believe me." There was a call from behind the Linoone, a call from a lady. It was his wife, calling the Linoone back to help with their three Zigzagoon children. "I've got to go. Nice talking to you." The Linoone bowed to Clyde, turned around and walked away, back to his family.

Clyde, unable to unhear what the Linoone spoke, walked back to Cinder, who was still laying asleep. Clyde murmured to himself, "Just what are you hiding, Cinder?"

Cinder woke up, stretching his arms up into the air. The first thing to catch his dreary eyes was Clyde, standing right in front of him. "Did you find anything, Clyde?"

Clyde was startled; he didn't realize the Cyndaquil woke up. "Yeah. Your parents aren't here." Clyde couldn't bring himself to tell the young Cyndaquil the truth.

"Where are they?"

"They're… in a better place. But it seems like they will be unable to come back for you."

Cinder looked down. "Really?"

Clyde nodded. "Really…" But then Clyde paused. "But… you can stay with me."

Cinder's eyes lit up somewhat. "Really?"

"Really. Come, I'll take you to my home right away." Clyde extended his hand to the Cyndaquil again, and this time Cinder took the hand without hesitation.

* * *

Cinder noticed a strong, sudden gust pushing towards his back. He turned to his rear, where the Altaria flew, coming closer and closer due to the Tailwind. "Please, Clyde would want you to be happy."

"How does this make me happy?!" Cinder moved faster away from his pursuers.

"This would give you a new home!" The Altaria's speed matched the Cyndaquil's, and they were right beside each other as they raced through the woods. "You would be around Pokemon that care for you. The kind that you need."

Cinder turned to the Altaria and shouted, "The only Pokemon I need is Dad!" Cinder inhaled a quick breath, and quickly exhaled, blowing out stars. The Altaria stumbled in surprise, and the Cyndaquil quickly curved right, effectively losing the dragon bird.

The Scyther then caught up to Cinder, and seemed to be closing in on the young Cyndaquil. "We don't want to have to use force, Cinder. Just come with us, and I promise, everything will be alright."

Cinder turned to the Scyther, still trying to escape. Tears welled up in the Cyndaquil's eyes. "Things won't be the same!"

"Things will never just be the same, Cinder. Sometimes things just have to change." The Scyther, still pursuing the Cyndaquil, looked to the grass, blowing in the intense winds. "Some things have to change…"

* * *

"Welcome to your new home, Cinder!" Clyde opened the door to his house.

The space wasn't very wide, and the furniture seemed like it can use some refurbishing. Piles of cans and plastic lay on the tables, and crumpled pieces of paper and foil were littered on the floors. "Sorry it's such a Tepig-sty, but please, make yourself feel at home."

Cinder entered the dirty house, looking for a place to sit. He found a half-eaten Pecha Berry Pie on the couch, and picked it up very carefully. He proceeded to throw it in the trash that was the floor behind said couch, and sat down. He looked around, the things catching his interest being a small-screen TV, a small cot in the corner of the room, and the empty kitchen behind him. "Nice place you got here."

Clyde sighed, and sat next to Cinder. "It's been a mess ever since last week."

"Why?" Cinder scooted closer to Clyde, obviously waiting for him to tell a story.

"Well, where do I begin? I used to have a kid of my own, little Froth. His name was suggested by my late wife." Cinder looked around, looking for any signs of a kid living in the house, but found nothing. Clyde took notice of this. "Sorry to disappoint you, but his things are gone." Clyde looked to his garbage-ridden floor. "A month ago, Froth was diagnosed with a horrendous disease without any cure… He died just last week." Clyde put his left hand on his head. "Ever since then, my life has turned upside down. I just can't seem to concentrate, and my money supply diminished harshly, so I had to move to this little hut, and things have just never been the same since."

Cinder put his head on Clyde's lap. "I'm sorry."

Clyde petted Cinder's head. "It's okay. Hopefully I'll have enough money to support us both."

Cinder smiled, and slept in this position. Clyde looked at the sleeping Cinder, at peace. "Maybe you will be able to fill the hole in my heart where Froth used to be…" Clyde put Cinder in the small cot, and turned out the lights. "Goodnight, Cinder." Clyde went to the couch, and shut his eyes, hoping for the best.

* * *

The Altaria caught up to the two, and Cinder sped up to try to lose them. Cinder noticed a cliff sitting in the direction he was running, and pressured his legs to halt. His body didn't seem to completely stop until he was at the very edge of the cliff. At the cliff, he noticed the waves were crashing onto the edge of the land, violently, and the skies above didn't seem to be letting up with the storm.

Cinder looked around to find an alternative route, but by that time, the Scyther and Altaria had caught up to him. The Cyndaquil faced the two, ready to strike if needed. _I don't want to go back to that place._

* * *

"Hey, Clyde, ready?" Woody, the Scyther, walked into the house, expecting to only find Clyde on his bed looking at the ceiling. Instead, he found Clyde trying to make some breakfast in his kitchen for a young Cyndaquil. "Clyde?" Woody turned towards Clyde, very confused. "Who's this?"

Clyde turned to Cinder, who was still asleep in the cot. "That's Cinder. I found him in the woods yesterday. His parents are gone, so I decided to let him live with me."

Woody nodded. "Well, Clyde, are you ready for today?"

"…Today?"

"Yeah, you said you would go with me to find some rescue work. Remember?"

Clyde looked at Cinder. "Yeah, I remember, but…" Cinder shifted in the bed, still asleep.

"… Look, Clyde, it's okay if you have to stay to take care of this Cyndaquil, but I'm just concerned about your work ethic recently." Woody took a seat on the couch. "You are in need of some money, and if you keep just slouching around in your home, then you might end up on the streets." Woody then turned to the cot, where Cinder was sleeping. "And you might take him down with you as well."

A fire burned brightly above the stove, burning Clyde's meal, and Clyde scrambled to put it out. His breakfast a failure, Clyde put his kitchen tools down and joined Woody on the couch. "I know. But things are just different right now. I just need some time, and some money."

Woody sighed. "You know what." Clyde turned to the Scyther. "I'll get Terry to take care of Cinder for the day, and you and I are going to get you lots of money."

Clyde had a confused look on his face. "How are you going to do that?"

"Well…" Woody looked to the ground, concerned about his plans. "I have some money saved up, so I can get you some money for a new, bigger house and to support both you and Cinder for a while, and I suppose that you will do lots of rescue requests to pay me back, and–"

Clyde interrupted Woody. "I'm talking about getting Terry to take care of Cinder. She must be exhausted from her night work at the hospital." Clyde glanced back at Cinder, who was still asleep in the bed. "I'll do anything for this little guy, no matter how tough the work is."

Woody nodded. "Well, then, let's get you that money." Woody smiled, got up and walked towards the door.

"Wait, what about Cinder?" Clyde turned to face Cinder, worried.

"Don't worry, he'll be okay." Clyde got up and followed Woody. "He's your son, isn't he? He'll be fine." Woody smiled at Clyde, who smiled back.

* * *

The Scyther was broken out of his trance with stars flying past his head. He shook his head back to reality, and turned his attention back to the Cyndaquil.

"Cinder, we don't want to have to use force," the Scyther said, raising his blades.

"Please, just come back peacefully, and everything will be just fine." The Altaria tucked her wings to her side, showing that she won't hurt the Cyndaquil.

The Cyndaquil had no choice; it's either go back, fight, or jump. "I'm not going back." His flames lit up a deep and bright red, despite the harsh storm that should have blown the flames out as soon as they ignited. Cinder looked at his flames, scared, and scrambled to put them out. _Cinder, get your act together. This is no time to be scared._

* * *

"Hey dad, guess what happened at school today!" Cinder entered the house, calling out for Clyde, excited to tell his dad about the good news. Woody followed Cinder into the house.

Ever since Woody gave Clyde the money, Clyde and Cinder moved into a new, clean house with new furniture and food in the fridge. Clyde had enrolled Cinder in the Safari Academy, a school teaching basic knowledge, like math and science, to little kids. It also has a gifted program, which Cinder is a part of, where they train young Pokemon to become rescuers (and also gives a scholarship to the school, meaning Clyde doesn't have to pay for school).

"What is it, son?" Clyde was sitting on the couch in the living room, and Cinder sat next to him, with Woody standing close by.

Woody decided to answer before Cinder could. "Your little Cinder here was nominated Student of the Year, and was promised early graduation. So he graduates tomorrow."

Clyde pet Cinder's head, who was pissed off at Woody. "That's great, son."

Cinder's smile came back. "Yeah, my instructor said that I was a very talented rescuer, and even told me that I might be able to achieve the Master Rank some day!"

Clyde's face turned worried. "Really?"

"Really!"

Clyde looked at Woody, and back at Cinder. "Hey, kid, why don't you go back to your room? You must have some things to take care of before graduation tomorrow."

Cinder nodded. "Okay. Are you still coming, dad?"

"Of course, son. Wouldn't miss it for the world." Cinder got up and rushed over to his room, excited to finish school the next day.

Woody sat down where Cinder was. "He's a good kid. You must be doing something right for once, Clyde."

"I know." Clyde looked down, his face turning more grim. "I don't think it would be wise to let him become a rescuer."

Woody looked at Clyde in disbelief. "Why?"

"I'm afraid the world out there is too dangerous for him, even if the instructor says that he's very strong. I don't want him to get hurt. Also…"

"Look, Clyde, if you're worried about _that_, then you don't need to worry. Cinder's fear of fire will make sure that his flames won't pop up often, so…"

Clyde glared at Woody. "But what about his fear of fire? Sure, he can handle himself when there is no fire, but what about when it ignites? He'll just look like a fool, and will never be taken seriously, especially since he's a Fire type."

"Don't worry, Clyde. Phobias like that will go away in time–"

"But what if it never goes away? And about that other thing… I fear that he'll be ostracized just because of that…"

Woody delicately put one of his arms behind Clyde's back. "Don't worry so much, Clyde. Cinder would do great at rescue work, you know this. Just tell him to not do anything too rash, and he'll be fine."

Clyde let out a small smile. "Yeah, you're right. I do worry too much. But he's not to start that stuff until he can form a rescue team. I think being in a group is wiser than being by yourself when starting out."

"Just like us?"

Clyde nodded. "Just like us."

Cinder was eavesdropping in on the conversation, looking at the pair through his barely-open door, his partially blue head giving him cover in his darkened room. "Don't worry, dad. I can take care of myself."

* * *

The Altaria stepped closer to Cinder. "Look, they will take good care of you. They will help and support you, just like Clyde did. They will love and nurture you, like you were their own son."

"They won't be able to replace Dad!"

The Scyther stepped closer. "No one will be able to replace your dad." The Scyther looked down, sad and upset. "Your dad was a great friend. No one will be able to replace him…"

* * *

"Hey Clyde, have you ever thought about telling Cinder the truth about his parents?"

Woody was over at Clyde's house, having some idle chitchat with Clyde. Cinder was in his room, presumably sleeping.

"I'm not sure, Woody. At first, I didn't want to hurt him, but now… I'm just afraid that he won't trust me anymore."

Cinder was looking through his door again, eavesdropping on the conversation, listening to the truth he never knew about.

"Look, Woody. I just think that telling Cinder that his parents died in that forest fire would hurt him so much, especially since I have been telling him his parents just left."

"But Clyde, if he is never told the truth, wouldn't he start wondering where his real parents are?"

Clyde started fumbling around with his hands. "You're right. I'm just afraid that he'll prefer to have another dad instead of me to take care of him, and even more scared that he'll just reject me and leave." Clyde looked over to Cinder's room, unaware that Cinder was listening in on them. "I don't know what to do, Woody. Either way, I'm scared Cinder will prefer another father over me."

Woody patted Clyde's head with the flat part of his left blade. "Look, Clyde, you have to tell him, and hope for the best. Don't you think Cinder is old enough to handle the truth and understand?"

Clyde nodded. "But what if he isn't ready? What if he hates me?"

"He won't. You are his father. That will never change. Is it possible that you are the one not ready to tell him?"

Clyde put his hand on his forehead. "I don't know. It's possible. I just don't want to lose him."

"You won't, Clyde. It'll be alright." Woody turned to Cinder's room. "Right, Cinder?"

Clyde, confused, turned back to Cinder's room, where Cinder reluctantly walked out, shocked that he was discovered, despite doing this so many times. "Have you been listening, Cinder?" Cinder nodded. "Look, Cinder, I'm so sorry I lied to you all this time, but it's just that…" As Clyde paused, Cinder hugged him.

"You will always be my dad. I know you were just concerned for me, and I know that. I won't want another dad, no matter what happens between us."

Clyde smiled. "Thanks, Cinder. That is the best possible answer you could give me." Clyde hugged Cinder back, and Woody looked happily at the family bonding moment occurring in front of him.

* * *

Cinder stepped backwards, almost slipping into the crashing waters below. The storm seemed to have caused the seas to become violent, and it seemed as if Cinder would be instantly crushed by the waves should he fall.

The Scyther and Altaria walked closer towards the Cyndaquil. "Please, come back with us. We promise everything will be alright." The Altaria extended her wing towards Cinder.

Cinder glanced down the cliff, and breathed deeply. "Sorry, dad." Cinder stepped backwards, praying for everything to be over.

* * *

"Thanks for letting me go with you on this rescue mission, dad!" It's been a while since Cinder graduated from the Safari Academy, and Clyde finally agreed to let Cinder accompany him on a rescue.

"Well, I thought that, since you loved this kind of stuff, that you'd love to come along." Clyde smiled. They were going to Shimmering Beach to deal with some missing Pokemon quest. They were traveling through some woods, and Clyde promised to take Cinder to a secret spot.

"Are we there yet?" Cinder complained.

"Almost." Clyde looked at his Wonder Map. "Should be coming up very soon."

"There! Light!" Cinder pointed forward, to the direction of the light. "Is that it?"

Clyde looked ahead. "Of course it is, Cinder. It's right there."

Cinder sprinted forward, excited to find what Clyde had been looking forward to showing him. He exited the forest, and ended up on a cliff side.

"Woah." Cinder was awestruck. The sun sparkled in the clear, blue sky, and the ocean glistened with the sunlight shining on its waters. Wingull flew in the air, peacefully, and the ocean seemed to stretch far beyond the horizon. "It's beautiful."

Clyde caught up to Cinder, and looked at the view with him. "Of course it is."

Cinder looked up at Clyde. "Hey, dad?" Clyde turned to face his son. "Will we be together forever?"

"Well, forever is a long time, Cinder."

"But will we be together for a long time?"

Clyde paused before answering. "Of course, Cinder."

"Promise?" Cinder held his hand out.

Clyde nodded and grabbed Cinder's hand. "Promise."

* * *

"Wait, Cinder!" The Scyther rushed to grab Cinder as he started to fall off the cliff, but was not fast enough to catch the falling Cyndaquil. The Scyther froze as he watched Cinder fall off the cliff, astonished and heartbroken.

"Woody…" The Altaria walked up to the Scyther, and rubbed his back. "We did our best. It's okay."

"No, Terry. It's not okay." The Scyther walked away from the cliff, still shocked from the event that just occurred. "Clyde trusted us with Cinder, and look at what happened!" Woody's voice seemed to have gotten louder, and angrier. "I've failed my best friend…" Woody sank his blades deep into the ground and kept slashing at the mud, frustrated, crying.

Terry patted Woody's back. "Let's go back, Woody. The storm is getting worse. We might get sick if we keep standing here."

Terry's words seemed to have calmed the Scyther down. Woody nodded, and got back up, prepared to go back with his friend, both of them convinced that Cinder had fallen to his demise.

"I'm sorry, Clyde. I failed you."

* * *

**Author's Note**

_Sorry if this seems kind of... bad, but I just started, so if you could please leave some suggestions for me in your reviews to make my writing better, that would be appreciated._

_Also, about that letter near the beginning, I have no idea what to put in for the missing letters. The letter is supposed to be burnt, so I had difficulty with deciding how to display that._

_Anyways, thanks for taking time and, you know actually bother to read my story. I hope that, as time goes on, my writing will seem to improve._

_...I might come back to edit some stuff here, in the beginning, later, though._


	2. Chapter 1: Meetings

The day has just begun.

The sun was still low in the sky, and sunlight was just starting to gleam into the forest. The bird Pokemon were perched on their trees, preening themselves. The forest Pokemon were scampering around, looking for spare food left on the ground by fallen branches. The forest seemed at peace.

And then there was a yawn.

A young Totodile sat up from his sleeping place, and stretched his arms up into the air.

He turned to his left, where a small stone was sticking out from the ground. There were some strange inscriptions, which the Totodile could figure out easily.

"Hi, mom," he said to the stone. "Isn't it a great morning?"

The Totodile patted the stone on the top. He then turned over to his right, where a picture frame was sitting.

"Hi dad." The Totodile looked into the contents of the frame, as though the frame was talking to him. "I'm doing fine. You don't need to worry, I'm fine."

The Totodile stood up and stretched out his back. He walked around his little home, a small clearing in a dense forest, where the evergreen trees stood tall, and even seemed to bend near the top, and the grass flowed in a distorted and strange way.

He heard a growling noise. It came from pretty close by. As he examined the area, he noticed that the noise, no matter where he went, didn't grow louder or softer at all. In fact, it came from below his head.

He was hungry.

"Hey, mom, dad." The Totodile turned back to the stone and picture frame. "I'm going out to get some food. I'll be back soon." He started his leave, but quickly looked back at the objects he cherished as his parents. "Don't worry, I'll be home before it gets dark."

The Totodile left his den, searching for a bite to eat.

* * *

The Totodile went even deeper into the forest, scanning the trail for some fresh meat. He looked around, hoping for a nice and fat purple rat or something to run past. He would stay in one place, for hours, in silence, until he determined that nothing was coming.

Eventually, he decided to go to the beach. For what reason? To fish.

He walked out of the dark forest, and was amazed by the sight in front of him. He has been to this area before, but every time, his reaction was the same. He would look at the ocean, where the sun's rays would waver on the rippling waters, and paint the sea a yellowish orange. He especially loved this spot in the mornings, where the sun would rise from the horizon, and grace the seas with the scarlet color the Totodile loved so much.

But there was something that broke his trance. Something that was out of place. The Totodile stared at a figure floating in the seas, something that was never there before. It was a Cyndaquil, unconscious, possibly dead, floating on a piece of driftwood.

"What? A Fire type? Out in the water?" The Totodile was perplexed by the sight. Was he just imagining things? He rubbed his eyes, but the figure would still be there, moving only by the forces from the waves.

The Totodile thought to himself, _Maybe the gods have given me a favor. Maybe I don't have to fish after all…_

The Totodile leaped into the water, swimming towards the figure. He grabbed the driftwood the body was grasping, and pulled it over to the shore. _The water feels nice_, he thought. _Maybe after breakfast, I should come back out and swim some more._

At the shore, the Totodile's jaws were watering. He seemed to be getting ready for a meal, waiting for his stomach to settle from the feelings of excitement over trying something both fresh and new.

But, his dreams were cut short. He heard the body cough. Not just once, but a few times. The Totodile examined the body even closer, and noticed that the body, though still, was still breathing. And waking.

* * *

"Ugh…" the Totodile heard the body groan. "What happened?"

The Cyndaquil slowly opened his vision up, and saw the Totodile, mouth still dripping with his drool, standing above him.

"Ah!" The Cyndaquil quickly stood up, and backed away from the Totodile. "What're you doing?!"

The Totodile was confused. He had just saved this Pokemon's life, and he was being repaid with fear? _Well, I was going to eat him…_

"Um… Nice to meet you," The Totodile awkwardly said, waving his hands, mouth smiling, revealing his sharp fangs. "You were, kind of, just floating in the ocean, so I… kind of… you know… saved you?" _Stupid!_ The Totodile beat himself in his head. _Can't you even talk to someone who should owe you his life?!_

The Cyndaquil, unsure of the Totodile's words, looked around. He noticed the lack of any other Pokemon on the beach, only him and the Totodile in front of him. The Cyndaquil blushed. "Sorry. I thought you were trying to eat me or something." He gave a small chuckle.

The Totodile also laughed a bit. "Yeah… right…"

There was an awkward silence between the two.

...

The Totodile broke the silence very quickly, startling the Cyndaquil, who was deep in thought. "Hey, so… um, how should I… what's your name?"

The Cyndaquil stared at the Totodile. _Did I say something wrong_, the crocodile asked himself. The Totodile looked down, in embarrassment.

"…Cinder."

The Totodile looked up, shocked. _Did he just answer my question?_

Cinder looked at the Totodile with an annoyed expression. "Well?"

The Totodile looked at Cinder, confused. "What?"

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?"

The Totodile scrambled to find his words. "Oh, uh… Leon. My name's Leon." The Totodile extended his hand towards Cinder. "N-nice to meet you…"

Cinder chose to ignore the gesture made by Leon, and continued to look around. "Where am I?"

Leon quickly retracted his hand. _Did I do something wrong?_ He looked down in worry, unsure of how to interact with the Cyndaquil.

"Um…" Leon tried to find the correct words to say. "We're right about next to Evergreen Ridge. The city, of course! The whole region is called Evergreen Ridge, but, you know, the city is also… called…" Leon drifted away from his sentence, afraid of how the Cyndaquil will react.

Leon was afraid to look the Cyndaquil in the face, but when he did, he saw the Cyndaquil nod his head.

"Hmm…" The Cyndaquil was lost in thought, probably thinking about his home. When Cinder opened his mouth next, he startled Leon a bit. "Thanks. That's all the information I need."

Cinder then proceeded to walk down the beach. Leon stared at him.

_Just what is going on in that Cyndaquil's mind?_

Leon decided to run up to and stop Cinder from walking any farther.

"Hey, wait!" Cinder turned 180 degrees, to face the Totodile. Huffing, Leon quickly gathered the courage to ask his question. "Where are you going?"

"What does it matter to you?"

Leon panicked. He didn't know what to do, let alone what to say.

Cinder stared at the sky. The sun was already falling from its highest point, and Cinder's face seemed a bit concerned. He looked to his side, but noticed that something seemed to be missing.

Leon watched as the Cyndaquil frantically checked his sides. "Hey, what's wrong? Are you missing something?"

Cinder was shocked: his bag had gone missing. _Was it when I fell off that cliff? Damn it, all of my things were in there!_

Cinder finally remembered the Totodile was standing in the vicinity. "Oh, yeah, something is wrong." Cinder patted his right side. "There used to be a bag here. But now it's gone."

"Was it important?"

"Yeah, it's important." Cinder gave a light thump to the Totodile's head, annoyed that he had to point out the obvious. "All of my things were in there. My supplies… My money…"

A light bulb flickered above Leon's head. "So, do you need a place to stay?"

"It seems like it. But nowhere would let me in for free…"

"Would you like to stay with me?" Leon's eyes lit up. He had forgotten any thought about wanting to eat the Cyndaquil before. "I live close by, and it'd be nice to have some company… But of course, you don't have to, the inn at Evergreen Ridge doesn't charge for its rooms!"

Cinder turned to face the Totodile. "Which is closer?"

"My place is pretty close. Just inside the forest."

Cinder had to think for a bit. _If he's going to offer to let me stay at his house, then I don't have to worry about expending much of my energy. Okay!_

Cinder nodded. "Sure. Show me to your place."

Leon shrieked in glee. "Really?" His eyes seemed to sparkle, like Cinder had just fulfilled some kind of wish of the Totodile's.

Leon stared walking back to the forest's entrance, and waved his arm towards Cinder. "Come on, this way!"

Cinder looked to the sky. _How did I get myself stuck in this mess?_

* * *

**Sinister Woods Entrance**

"Come on! We're almost there!" Leon was far ahead of Cinder, just at the entrance to a darker part of the woods.

Cinder stumbled forward, tired from chasing the energetic Totodile. When he finally caught Leon, he laid down on the ground, tucked out and breathing heavily. "You know," he started, "you didn't have to go so fast."

"I know." The Totodile had a huge grin on his face. "I'm just really excited to finally have company!"

After a quick rest, Cinder stood himself up and looked around. _This place looks pretty dangerous. It has the same feeling as a m—_

"Hey, Cinder! Let's go in already!"

Cinder's thoughts were scrambled by Leon's words. "Coming!" he replied, angrily._ This had better be worth it._

* * *

**Sinister Woods, Floor 1**

Leon led Cinder through the dark woods, whistling something that Cinder couldn't recognize. Cinder peeked around his surroundings: the trees seemed unhealthy, with fallen leaves scattered around the floor, and the skies didn't seem the same as it was moments ago. The shrubbery around them seemed a sickly brown, and the grass under them was still, despite the soft winds blowing from his right. Rotting berries lined the tree branches, and wild Pokemon scampered across the path they walked often.

"You're gonna love my home!" Leon suddenly said to Cinder. "It's wide, and pretty open, and just wait until you meet my parents! They're the best people I know!"

But Cinder didn't pay much attention to the Totodile. Cinder got a bad feeling about being in the forest. He continued looking around, like something was off. _Before entering this part of the forest, the trees were vibrant with color and the leaves were a deep green. But here. Here, the trees seemed… sick. Rotten. And somewhat—_

_Twisted. Crap, this is…_

"Wait, Leon." The Totodile stopped, looking at the Cyndaquil. "Where exactly is your home?"

"Just around the corner. Why?"

Cinder looked around again. This time, he was very sure. "This is a mystery dungeon."

* * *

**Author's Note**

_Hopefully the story isn't boring people. By the way, if you're reading this, thanks for reading. Any tips you provide will really help!_

_Also, sorry this one is really short compared to the last one. That last one... was a bit of an experiment of some sorts. After that, I realized that I should never do that stuff **ever again.**_

_Also, thanks to break, I have time for this story, so don't be surprised if the updates get slower. School is an ass._

_Have a nice day._


	3. Chapter 2: Walking Through Home

"This is a mystery dungeon, Leon. Didn't you know this?"

Cinder stared the Totodile down, angered by his discovery.

Leon freaked out, frantically looking around, unsure of what to say. "How'd you—"

"The plants did not look like they should. They seemed sick, maybe even dead, and the grass didn't even seem to move." Cinder kept glaring at Leon. "I was trained for this sort of thing. This is a mystery dungeon."

Leon looked down, whether it was by guilt or by despair, Cinder couldn't tell.

Cinder continued. "Take me to Evergreen Ridge. This place is too dangerous to stay."

Leon erupted with anger. "Don't make fun of my home!"

Cinder looked with shock at Leon, startled by the outburst of anger.

Seeing Cinder's reaction, Leon quickly gathered himself back together, and walked on. "Anyways, my home is just right here." Leon tried to bring his smile back, but Cinder noticed Leon's struggles with keeping that façade up.

* * *

**Leon's Den**

"We're here!" Cinder was amazed: Leon was able to quickly locate his home, in a mystery dungeon. A mystery dungeon, of all places.

Cinder looked around. The only things of note were a small stone partially buried in the ground and a picture frame. Something that seemed odd to leave in a mystery dungeon.

"This is your home?"

Leon nodded. He ran up to the items on the floor, and to Cinder's surprise, started to talk to them.

"Hey, mom, dad, guess what? I brought a friend. I'm letting him stay here for the night. Is that alright?" Cinder looked with concern: is his savior… insane?

Leon continued his conversation with his inanimate objects. "Really? Thanks!" Leon leaped into the air with a smile on his face.

_What should I do?_ Cinder's mind was conflicted. _It would be in my best interest to leave, but…_ Cinder continued to look at the joyous Totodile. _I don't want to hurt him. _Cinder stood there, motionless, his breathing indicating his fear. _I've got to do it._

"Ahem." Cinder cleared his throat as he walked towards Leon. "Look, Leon, I have something to tell—"

Suddenly, Cinder looked down at the picture in the frame. There was an image. A Tyranitar, standing in front of something that seemed familiar. Very familiar. The colors behind the Tyranitar in the picture seemed to bend in a circular shape, lined up together in a particular order. There was a small violet arc on the inside, and a large red arc on the outer edge of the shape. And there were more than one. There were two, quite possibly three, no wait, FOUR. Four colorful arcs, in the skies behind the Tyranitar, one noticeably bigger than the other three. Cinder was amazed by the picture, as he stared at the frame. _I… feel like I've seen this before… But where?_

Leon looked at Cinder, who was marveling at his picture frame. He smiled.

"Hey, Cinder, don't stare at dad like that."

Cinder turned back to Leon, who chuckled. _He must think this picture is his dad… Maybe this Tyranitar was his dad…_

Cinder then paid attention to the stone embedded into the ground. There were strange markings on the stone, unreadable markings, but Cinder was able to gather the evidence that this must be Leon's mom. Most likely a grave. And the stone, a gravestone.

Cinder stopped himself from getting distracted even more, and continued to speak. "Listen, Leon." Leon turned back to the Cyndaquil, still with the big grin he wore before. "I appreciate the offer to stay here, but I think I might be better off in that inn you mentioned earlier…"

Leon just stared blankly at Cinder, his eyes showing signs of crying. The Totodile's head then bobbed downward. "I understand…"

Leon brokenheartedly took Cinder to the exit of his house. "I guess this is it… Goodbye, Cinder…"

Cinder almost started towards the exit of the dungeon, but looked back to Leon. He saw tears coming down from the Totodile's eyes, and instantly felt guilty. Cinder turned back to Leon, trying to find words to tell the crying Pokemon.

"Hey, Leon…" Leon looked up to the Cyndaquil's head. "If it's okay with you… Maybe you should take me to Evergreen Ridge." Cinder looked back into Leon's den, where the two items were still laying. "I wouldn't want to separate you from your… parents… but I don't really know the way, so…"

Leon's joy suddenly had a jump start. Leon ran back inside, muttered something to his "parents", and then came back in a hurry. "Let's go!"

Leon took the lead, showing Cinder the way through the cursed forest, into the city. "This place is only three floors, so it won't take long to get to Evergreen Ridge, Cinder." Leon smiled back at the Cyndaquil, who was surprised; he didn't expect the Totodile to instantly forgive him, not this easily.

As Leon led him through the floor, Cinder took himself deep into his own mind. _What's going to happen next? I'm still not going back. Not now, when I already came so far from home. All I can do now is trust in this Totodile… But he doesn't seem like most Pokemon I've seen before…_

* * *

**Sinister Woods, Floor 2**

Leon led Cinder through the mystery dungeon, completely aware of what was where. Leon knew where the berry trees were, where some of the wild Pokemons' homes were, and even where the stairs were. It was like he doesn't even notice the nature of a mystery dungeon. The crucial fact that always gets explorers lost, and cause rescuers great panic. The fact that mystery dungeons change their layout every single day.

Cinder was being self-conscious around Leon. He didn't fully trust the crocodile. And he didn't know why. _Why do I feel like I'm in constant danger around Leon?_

At that moment, a Rattata scurried down the path. Leon caught sight of it before Cinder could, and pushed both himself and Cinder into the bushes.

"What're you—"

"Shh! It'll hear you!"

"What?" Cinder poked his head outside the bushes. He finally noticed the Rattata, which stopped to investigate the sudden movement it had just witnessed in front of its eyes.

"Wait here, okay?" Leon left Cinder alone in the bushes, and crawled over to a spot where he knew he wouldn't be seen.

_Is Leon trying to sneak past the Rattata? No, then he would've told me to go with him. _Cinder's face suddenly grew a frown. _By the way, why am I just sitting here? I can handle myself just fine. Leon can't tell me what to do._

But as Cinder started to get up, he noticed Leon sneaking up to the unknowing purple rat. The Totodile's eyes seemed grim and dark, like he was—and that's when it hit Cinder.

Before Cinder could react, Leon scooped up the Rattata into his jaws, and squeezed the life out of the small rodent. Blood dripped out of Leon's mouth, and Cinder could hear the loud noise of the rat's screams, its plea for help. But it was too late. Cinder heard a bone snap, and the Rattata's limbs, which were struggling before, fell, like the energy had just been exhausted from its body. Leon dropped the rat down to the floor, and gestured for Cinder to come out.

"Well, what're you just standing there for?" Leon looked at Cinder, who couldn't move, or even speak at the moment. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Cinder came out of the bushes, afraid of what Leon would do if he didn't comply with his demands.

Then tears started streaming down from his eyes.

"Why?!" Cinder snapped at the Totodile. "Why did you have to do THAT?! It didn't do any harm!"

Cinder glared into Leon's eyes, confused, scared, angry.

"It's not far from the exit, so you could just hold your hunger, just a bit longer! A-And we're not hunting! Even if it is feral, you shouldn't just kill _and_ eat it!"

Leon was very confused. But then his face turned stern. He mumbled something under his breath, too softly for Cinder to hear.

"What did you just say?!" Cinder was furious that Leon was keeping to himself. "Look, I swear to Arceus, that if you don't tell me what you just said, then—"

"This is what I get for trusting a stupid civ." Leon said it out loud, for Cinder to hear. Leon stared down the crying Cyndaquil, angered, serious.

"What?" Cinder's face turned from one of distress to one of confusion. "What do you mean, a 'civ'?"

"YOU!" Leon stomped his foot. "You, and your people! You all think alike!"

Cinder stomped his foot, trying to show that he was just as strong as Leon. "What do you mean, 'CIV'?"

"Civ. Civil. As in, civilized Pokemon."

Cinder stepped away from Leon, confused by the words that spouted out from the Totodile's mouth. _Civ? What does he mean by—_

Then the pieces clicked together. _Ugh, I'm so stupid. How did I not see this before? He lives in a FUCKING mystery dungeon, for crying out loud!_

Cinder face palmed. "You mean to say that you are a feral? But ferals aren't able to communicate at ALL! All they can do is cry, and fight!"

Leon shook his head, in disbelief. "Not feral, civ. Wild." Leon said these words with major urgency. "Wild."

Cinder scratched his head. "What's the difference?"

"'What's the difference?' WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?!" Leon was stomping mad now. Cinder didn't mean for things to go this far, especially over a small rat.

"The difference is that we Wild Pokemon are prideful, and unlike those MONSTER FERALS, WE actually have intelligence! We are _Pokemon_, just like you civs! We talk, we feel, we play, we eat!"

Leon's rage seemed to have subsided a bit, and he continued, with his face staring at the ground. "Yet, you stupid civs manage to confuse us with THEM and hunt US down. It hurts, just knowing that… we're seen that way…"

Streams of tears fell down from the Totodile's eyes. He was crying. He tried so hard to hold it in, but he was unable to stop the tears from leaking out.

Leon dropped to the ground, picked up the dead corpse, and started eating it. In between bites, he tried to yell more to Cinder, but couldn't find the heart to continue. "We may hunt to survive… But we're still Pokemon too… We may live in mystery dungeons… or maybe just outside of your cities… but we… we…" Leon was unable to continue, as he had to use his energy to keep from bursting his cries out.

Cinder took a seat next to Leon. The Cyndaquil patted the blue croc on the back. Then he proceeded to hug him. "I'm… sorry."

Those words comforted Leon, as Leon's sniffling stopped.

"I'm… sorry, Leon. I didn't mean to…" Puddles of water still formed in Cinder's eyes, but for a different reason now.

Leon sensed Cinder's empathy, and hugged him. They were now both crying on each other's shoulders.

After they finished their little episode, they let go of each other. Surprisingly, the feral Pokemon didn't seem to have wanted to bother them, whether it be the rat skeleton on the floor, or the fear that Leon must have instilled into the forest's Pokemon over the years.

"I forgive you." Those words soothed Cinder's mind. "I'm sorry, I just… I wasn't thinking. I guess you can say… I'm a little jealous…"

Cinder turned to Leon. "Jealous? Of me? Why?"

"You civs have the most amazing lives." Leon got up, his eyes sparking with wonder again. "I heard from my mom that you civs would team up and combat the forces of evil!" Leon's eyes seemed to have a fire burning within them. "I heard tales of, of Pokemon saving others from hot magma, and, and, and even fighting the legends!" Leon's head turned to the skies, which were barely visible. "How I would give to be graced with that opportunity."

But Leon's expression suddenly became grim. "But sadly, 'ferals' aren't welcome in society."

"You must be talking about rescue teams," Cinder concluded. "Have you ever tried?"

Leon turned his head to Cinder, almost coming back to tears. "Of course! But the civs in Evergreen Ridge don't have a rescue team!" Leon looked at the skeleton laying right in front of him. "Besides, no one there even accepted me, even when I was with dad…"

"Well, what was your dad like? Was he that Tyranitar in the picture?"

"Of course! Who else would I be proud of to call my dad?" Leon, his eyes coming out of despair, looked back up to the skies. "My dad, he said he was the most famous explorer to live on the planet! His name, Cage the Tyranitar, would strike fear in his enemies, and none would ever dare underestimate his power. Every single enemy dad faced, he told me, he had single-handedly taken down, without any trouble or anything!" Leon paused for a second. "I really miss him…"

Cinder has heard of Cage the Tyranitar. Otherwise known as Cage the Tank. He was as best as they come, and even was part of the highest ranked rescue team to have existed, Team Quakers.

But before Cinder could remember the history lesson even more, Leon continued with his story. "He told me that he would come back one day, and he never did. He left me and mom, all alone. No one wanted us in the city. My mom was wild, too. We would endure the abuse given to us by the neighbors, the same neighbors that praised dad, for days, and months, but he never came back. Mom thought he abandoned us, but I know that's not true. But then, years went by, and mom died, and now…" Leon's eyes were starting to water again.

Cinder thought that he should shed some light on the young Totodile, but he ultimately decided not to. He didn't want to tell Leon, who trusted his dad, who believed in his dad, with all of his heart, that Cage died. Died during a forest fire. In the Great Safari.

_Even if it's hiding the truth from him_, Cinder thought, _I'm not telling him. Not when he's so vulnerable right now. Not when his world may seem to be crashing down on him._

Leon got back up suddenly, shocking Cinder. "Let's keep moving. The city's not that far away." Leon picked Cinder up to his feet, and took the lead. "…Thanks."

Cinder took a good long look at Leon's face. It was one with determination. One with courage. One with hope.

* * *

**Sinister Woods, Floor 3**

Leon and Cinder continued to tread along the trail through the forest._ This is it, the last floor. After this, we'll probably have to say goodbye, but… I don't want to…_

"Hey, Cinder."

Cinder was startled by Leon's voice. He had not been expecting any words to come after what he just witnessed.

"Cinder, can I ask you a question?"

"…Sure."

"…Now, you've said that you have been trained for this kind of thing. What did you mean by that?"

Cinder was surprised. He didn't realize that he ever said that. And he didn't realize that Leon heard that, let alone remembered that. "Well…"

Cinder had troubles finding the right words to explain to Leon. The Totodile most likely had no understanding of how "civs" lived, what they do.

"See, back at my hometown, there's this building. It's called school."

"School?" Leon pondered the word. "I'm sure I remember what that is. A place to… learn stuff?"

"Right. My school had this program to teach kids to become rescuers."

"So… You were part of this program, and that's how you learned about mystery dungeons?"

Cinder nodded. "And many other things, such as combat, item usage, and even strange phenomena, such as the time and space distortions in mystery dungeons, and the 'wind'."

"Wind?" Leon was confused. He stuck a finger into his mouth, and held it up. He was probably thinking about how harmless the wind was in this climate, where the winds didn't blow vigorously.

"Yes. Wind. You see, if an explorer stays in a dungeon for too long, they will start to hear a sturring." Cinder blew into Leon's ear to imitate the sound. "After that, the winds will seem to increase in pressure, and the next thing you know, you're out of the dungeon. Not only that, but you will have lost EVERYTHING. I mean it. Sometimes, team mates can be lost, meaning other teams will have to go rescue that Pokemon, and your items may vanish, too. Scattered all around the floors of the very dungeon that pushed you out."

Leon seemed intrigued. "Really? That's… never happened to me…"

"Well, maybe it's because the dungeon recognizes you as a resident here, so it didn't bother to kick you out."

Leon looked at the Cyndaquil in disbelief. "Maybe." Leon silently snickered to himself, making sure that Cinder didn't hear.

Cinder could tell that Leon thought that he wasn't being serious. _It's natural for Leon to think that way_, Cinder thought. _He _has_ been living _here_ all of his life._

The pair continued to walk through the dark woods, when all of a sudden, Cinder was stopped by Leon.

"Wait…" Leon sniffed the air. "Something feels odd here…"

Leon looked around, leaving Cinder hopelessly confused. _What was wrong? Looks just the same as any other place in this forest._

Leon, far ahead of Cinder, turned back to the Cyndaquil, and with his mouth opened wide, attempted to scream. "Cinder, RUN!"

Cinder, in a panic, trusted Leon and darted forwards. He didn't realize it at the time, but a pair of blades had almost cut Cinder into pieces. Thanks to Leon, Cinder was still alive

Cinder turned to face his attacker, a green bug, over twice of Cinder's height, stood, its blades sharpened for the kill, its face expressionless, and its stomach empty.

Cinder instantly recognized the Pokemon. "Scyther."

Leon panicked and ran towards Cinder. "Quick, Cinder, get away!"

The Scyther slashed its blades, but Cinder was able to narrowly evade its swings. _One false mistake, and my head would be gone._

Leon charged towards the two combating Pokemon, in hopes of getting Cinder out of this mess, but sadly was unable to get there before Cinder tripped and the Scyther stood, towering the fallen Pokemon, brandishing its blade to attack.

"Cinder, you're a Fire type! Use your fire!"

Cinder glared at Leon, scared. "What? Are you mad?" There was a look on Cinder's face that Leon has never seen on him before. It was fear. Genuine fear.

"Do it! Or do you want to be part of the food chain?" Leon still tried to hurry over to his friend's side, but felt that he couldn't go the distance in time.

Cinder took a deep breath in. _The fire is nothing to fear, Cinder. Nothing to fear._

Then it happened. Cinder's flames exploded from his back. Both the Scyther and Leon were amazed at the sight: black fire. Something that no one has ever seen before, and no one thought to be possible. The sight stopped them at their tracks, unable to move.

Cinder quivered in fear, yet stood up to face the Scyther. "A-are you r-ready?"

Cinder inhaled very deeply. The Scyther, broken out of its daze, tried to make a move to take Cinder down before anything could happen, but it was too late. Cinder built up his inner fire, the flames gathering up in his throat, singing his neck. Cinder felt the relief come to him as he breathed out, the flames coming out with the dispelled air. The black flames engulfed the Scyther, and, due to the natural weakness of fire it possessed, fell to the ground, its body helplessly burning. The Scyther got up in a haste and ran away from the Cyndaquil, trying to use its wings to fan out the flames.

Leon ran towards Cinder, ready to hug him. "You did it!" But Leon halted after seeing Cinder's face. It still held fear inside of that look.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Cinder bunkered down, almost ready to break down. "MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP!"

Leon was very confused. Make what stop? What's bothering Cinder? Then Leon recognized it. The reason the Cyndaquil is so full of fear. The fire.

"Okay, Cinder, calm down. Just let me handle it." Leon focused his energy into his throat. Droplets of water were forming from the air he breathed in, and eventually enough condensed to fully be able to expel from the body. He forced the water to rise from his throat, and out of his mouth, carefully aiming the liquid in the direction of Cinder's black flames.

There. Leon had put the flames out.

Cinder looked at his back, and was relieved that the fire was gone. "Thanks, Leon."

Leon shook his head. "You don't have to thank me."

Leon helped Cinder up, and looked ahead. There's the exit. They were almost out of the dungeon. Yet, a part of them wished that they could stay together a bit longer.

As the pair walked down the path to the exit, Leon stopped Cinder.

"What, Leon?"

"What happened back there?"

"Well…" Cinder took some time, trying to find a topic to quickly deter the conversation from the deep, dark secrets he held. "Flamethrower _is_ a pretty hard move for a Pokemon to master, especially someone my age, but I can—"

"No, not that." Leon looked to Cinder's back, extending a finger to gesture. "That."

Cinder was confused at first, then a look of terror rose into his face. He had let Leon see, didn't he?

"Please, Leon, please, don't tell anyone!" Cinder fell to the ground and begged. "Please! I promised I wouldn't show anyone!"

Leon was confused. "What? I know phobias are not to be taken lightly, so you don't have to stoop to begging, Cinder." Leon smiled.

Cinder looked up. _Did he not notice? Did he not notice the—_

"By the way, that black flame you have is really cool. Very different from what I've seen… or heard about." A smug smile appeared on Leon's face and he chuckled a bit.

The color drained from Cinder. _He knows. Oh Arceus, he knows._

"But don't worry. I won't tell anyone your fire is black. Okay?"

_Wait. Did he not… No, he noticed, but he thought the wrong thing… My flames… they aren't always black, like he just said… He doesn't know! My secret is still safe!_

Cinder smiled a bit, and got up. "Um… Thanks, Leon." Cinder realized that he was thanking him for the wrong reasons, but knew that if he didn't, then he might hurt the Pokemon, or worse, may it harder for himself.

"No problem! Now, we're almost there!" Leon led Cinder to the exit. Cinder can see the sun clearly from his position. It was setting.

_I guess time does work differently in dungeons. I don't remember being in here for _that_ long_, he thought.

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Southeastern Outskirts**

"Here it is…" Leon seemed disgusted by being near the city. The pair had ended up on top of a cliff overlooking the city. Cinder stepped to the edge of the cliff.

Cinder was amazed at the sight. The city was filled with luscious evergreen trees lining the streets, decorating the squares and neighborhoods. The streets, though quiet, emitted a bright light that enchanted the areas around it. The homes, though not too large, seemed luxurious, and very skillfully crafted.

And best of all, there was a giant tree in the middle. A tree that, for some reason, was just a bit to the right so that Cinder could enjoy the sunset laid out in front of him. The orange hue of the setting sun always gave Cinder peace, for some reason. Maybe it's because he's a Fire type? Maybe it's because the sun's a huge ball of fire that's going away for the day. Who knows? Either way, the view was breathtaking.

Leon tapped Cinder on the shoulder, catching the Cyndaquil's attention.

"I see that you have taken an interest in this town," Leon said, with a hint of disgust. But Cinder couldn't blame him: Leon _did _live in this city but his neighbors _did_ kind of force him out.

"It's marvelous." _That's it? That's _all_ I have to say? What's wrong with me today?_

"I guess, if you're into that kind of crap…" Leon turned away from the sunset, with obvious disdain. Cinder wondered if it was because of the city, or because Leon himself did not enjoy sunsets.

When Cinder turned to thank Leon for his help, he noticed the Totodile playing around with his fingers. "What is it, Leon?"

Leon was shocked. He didn't see Cinder looking at him. "Oh, um… Well, I, uh, was, kind of, you know, hoping that…" Cinder could tell Leon had troubles stringing his words together. He didn't notice it before, but Leon had been sort of awkward with words at the beginning. Maybe this sort of thing happens when Leon's nervous?

"Get it together, Leon!" Leon smacked himself on the head, trying to reorganize his thoughts. "So… Um… Cinder, uh, you remember how I, uh, said that there was no rescue team here? And I asked you about the, uh, school thing?"

Cinder nodded his head, almost immediately figuring out what Leon was going to asked him: Will you make a rescue team with me?

_What should I do? Should I say yes? Well, I don't have anywhere particular to go… and besides… _Cinder looked up to Leon, who was still stumbling over his words. _I feel like… I could trust him… Somehow, he just feels… familiar…_

"Yeah, so, I was kinda hoping, that, maybe, just maybe, you would like to…"

Cinder looked back to the sunset. "I'm sorry."

Leon again had that depressed look on his face. "Figures…"

"Sorry that you're going to have to find your things."

The Totodile looked back at Cinder with confused eyes, wondering what he meant. "What're you…"

"I'm saying that, from now on, we're going to have to be in the city. Taking jobs, helping out, whatever! Let's work out hardest to be the best rescue team ever… Partner." Cinder held his hand up for Leon.

Leon, unable to understand what exactly just happened, quickly grabbed the hand. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You have no idea what this means to me!" Leon was shaking Cinder's hand so violently, Cinder was shaking himself. Leon immediately let go of the hand, seeing what he was doing. "Sorry."

Reorienting himself, Cinder replied, "No problem."

Leon was ecstatic. He had no idea what to do with his surplus of energy. "I'm gonna go grab my things! Please, wait here!"

Leon bolted back into the forest, and came back only moments later. He had grabbed his "parents", along with some other goods that Cinder seemed to have missed during his visit, such as a small, pink scarf, a long, blue scarf, and a vibrant, golden bow. He also brought some Oran and Pecha berries, and even a couple of Apples.

_Wow, first, the dungeon made the day seem shorter, but now, since Leon came back in almost an instant, it seems the dungeon made the day feel longer inside! Mystery dungeons _are_ wondrous._

"Sorry it took so long! Had to find something to carry these."

Cinder was amazed at the amount of supplies Leon had in his home. And even more amazed at the bag Leon held. It had the insignia of the legendary Team Quakers, the earth rippling in half with a fierce, thunderbolt-like crack. Cinder figured that this was Leon's last memento of his father.

"So? Let's go! First to the inn, to get some rest, then to the house shop, or whatever you civs call it, then to… Um…" Leon stopped talking, and a thought occurred in his head. "Where do we sign up?"

Cinder was shocked. He had not thought of that. Cinder looked back at the town, the sunset almost gone. He scanned the buildings for anything, _anything_, that seemed like they'd have signup sheets for new rescue teams, but the only place he could think of is. "The Pelipper Post Office."

Leon looked at Cinder. "Pelipper… Post Office? What's that?"

"Um… just think of it as a way to send and get letters. Sometimes they handle big things, but usually something major is sent by a reliable friend or rescuer."

Leon nodded. "So first thing tomorrow, we go to the… whatchamacallit. And go from there?"

"That seems to be the course of action." Cinder was _not_ excited for this. Especially since what happened just days before… But Cinder decided to not pay that any mind.

"So, anyways, Cinder…" Leon grabbed Cinder's attention away from his thoughts. "We should go to the inn. It probably isn't full, but it is getting late." Leon yawned. "And I'm tired."

"Of course, sorry, just… remembering something…"

Cinder started to walk down the gentle side of the cliff, and Leon quickly followed. _Just what is that Cyndaquil hiding? I guess I'm gonna have to figure it out myself._

* * *

**Author's Note**

_12/27/13 - Thanks to the one guy who favorited (you know who you are)_


	4. Chapter 3: Signing Up

**Streets of Evergreen Ridge**

"Come on, Leon, I think the inn is just right there."

Cinder was far ahead of the Totodile, who struggled not only to keep up, but to also hold his bag full of goods.

Cinder darted through the dim streets, finding the night's dim lights soothing and peaceful. Meanwhile, Leon was gasping for breath, pleading for a break. "Please, Cinder, can you slow down?"

Cinder's legs stopped moving, and he turned to the Totodile. He noticed how far behind he had left Leon, in all of his excitement, in all of his fear. The Cyndaquil scratched himself on the back of his head, feeling sort of guilty. "Sorry."

Cinder waited for Leon to catch up, and the Totodile immediately sat next to Cinder and tried to gasp for air.

After regaining composure, Leon looked up at the Cyndaquil. "Hey, Cinder, do you even know where the inn is?"

"Well, I just assumed the inn would be—"

"You _assumed_?!" Leon's rage almost let out again. "We are in the middle of the city, lost, and just going in some random direction!?"

Cinder let out a soft smile. "Sorry, I just got a bit excited…"

The Totodile's rage calmed down. He sighed. "Well, it's okay. It's not like I know where it is, either…"

The Cyndaquil gave out a subtle chuckle, like he wasn't disturbed by this sort of thing. Leon glared at Cinder. _Doesn't he know how important this is? It seems like he's just playing around right now._ Leon got back up to his feet, and looked around, searching for anyone that might be able to help them.

The streets of Evergreen Ridge were deserted. No soul seemed to be crawling around the dark grey, stone pavement, and the darkness of the night helped to shroud the area from Leon's sight.

Cinder noticed Leon searching around, and looked too. He assumed that Leon was fascinated with the scenery, as Leon would look all over.

Cinder was awestruck by the tall lampposts, the ones casting blue flames over the streets. They resembled Lampent to him, oddly. In between two lamps, which were several feet apart from one another, there stood a tree, the type differing in each district. They were in Pine Square, so naturally, there were pine trees around the area. The pines grew tall and proud, spanning well over two times as high as the lamps, which were as tall as a full grown Dragonite.

And the grass was so full of life. It gave a sort of natural feel to the city, which would otherwise seem tainted with pollution. The grass stood with such vigor, that it clearly marked the boundaries between the walkway and the protected nature life.

And the buildings were no different. Only being about two thirds of the size of the pine trees, the buildings lining the streets didn't disrupt the natural feel of the forest city. For one, they were made of stone, the grey cobblestone matching the concrete path. On some buildings, some vines seemed to grow, making the city look like some ancient ruins lost in time, rather than the booming city it actually was.

Cinder was amazed at how natural the city looked, despite the sheer size and population it held.

"Hey, look!" Leon pointed to a shadow in the distance, and caught the attention of Cinder.

There, a large frog-like Pokemon emerged from the darkness. The Pokemon had a large, dotted flower on its back, and its skin was a blue color, and where the flower met the body, large, green leaves protruded from the center.

The Pokemon walked up to the pair, who were astonished. Cinder knew what kind of Pokemon this was: a Venusaur. And the lack of the seed in its flower indicated that the gender would be male.

The Venusaur stopped next to Cinder and Leon, towering over twice their heights, combined. From this close, Cinder could tell this Venusaur had lived a long time, as the skin, though healthy, seemed worn, and the Venusaur's flower was larger than most Venusaur that he's ever seen.

"Good evening, little ones." The Venusaur startled Cinder and Leon, who were still marveling at the giant's size.

"Are you lost?" The Venusaur extended two vines, one to each. He gently shook the vines, while Cinder and Leon just stared. "Well? Aren't you going to shake?"

"Sorry!" Leon immediately grabbed the vine and shook it. "Nice to meet you…um…"

"Birch. Briar Birch. But most Pokemon call me Briar." The Venusaur smiled.

Leon nudged Cinder. "Don't be rude! Shake it."

Cinder grabbed Briar's vine, giving it a shake.

"So, who are you, young ones, and why are you out here, in the dark?" The Venusaur retracted his vines, having no further immediate use of them.

Leon started to stumble on his words again. "Um, well, my name is, uh, Leon! And this is, you know, my friend—"

Cinder interrupted Leon, knowing the Totodile had difficulties with speaking when nervous. "Cinder. Nice to meet you, Briar."

Leon looked at Cinder, with an apologetic face. "Sorry," Cinder assumed Leon was trying to say.

"See, Briar, Leon and I were trying to find the inn, but we seem to have gotten lost."

Briar smiled. "So, you two are outsiders?"

Cinder and Leon nodded their heads.

"I see… The inn is just on the left, that way." The Venusaur pointed in the direction Cinder and Leon came from. "So, what brings you to our city? Passing by, doing a request?"

Cinder almost started to speak again, but Leon shoved his hand in front of Cinder. "Let me, Cinder."

Leon cleared his throat, trying to get himself ready to speak to the Venusaur. "Well, me and my friend, Cinder, kind of want to start a rescue team."

Briar glanced at the Totodile, kind of shocked. "Really? Our city hasn't really had a rescue team, not since…" The Venusaur trailed off, thinking of the past rescue team Evergreen Ridge ever had. He came back shortly after. "Anyways, we'd be glad to accept a rescue team, no problem."

Cinder looked at the Venusaur, suspicious. "Can you speak for the city? Aren't you just a citizen?"

Briar shook his head at this remark. "Oh, I'm more important than you would know. Anyways, good luck, rescue team. Hope to hear your names in the local news soon!" The Venusaur extruded a vine again to wave goodbye, as he moved his body in the direction he was going before.

Out of nowhere, Leon's rage came back. "We _missed _the inn! On our way _to_ the inn!"

"Calm down, Leon. You heard Briar, the inn's no too far from here."

Cinder's words seemed to have caught the Totodile's attention, and Leon started to calm down. "Sorry."

"Let's go." Cinder grabbed Leon's hand and pulled him over to the direction of the inn, as told by the kind Venusaur.

* * *

**Evergreen Inn**

"Welcome!" A kindly Furret opened the door for Cinder and Leon to enter. "Are you here to stay the night?"

"Room for two, please." Cinder turned to Leon, who seemed nervous. _Evergreen Ridge was his former home, so I assume he's sort of uncomfortable being back. Maybe it's because he's a wild. Maybe he's scared._

The Furret went up to her little counter, and took a key out of her drawer. She ran back to the pair, and handed it to Leon. "The room's free of charge, of course, and the meals are complementary." The Furret ran to the entrance of a long, narrow hallway. "Come, your room is this way."

Cinder and Leon followed the Pokemon down the hall. The doors all seemed to be of the same type of wood, and the walls were made of stones. Cinder recognized that this kind of wood was unable to be burned, and figured that this was to prevent fire hazards, especially since the halls had live torches lighting the way.

The Furret stopped near the end of the hall. "This is your room. Room 42."

Cinder and Leon looked at the door. It stood tall, and on it was a bronze plaque, one that said, as the Furret mentioned, "Room 42".

Leon opened the door, and Cinder turned to the Furret. "Thank you."

The Furret giggled and smiled. "You're welcome. Have a good night!" The Furret scampered down the hall.

Cinder entered the room, where Leon was already on one of the beds, laying down, his bag on the floor next to him.

"I never knew you civs had it made!" Leon was basking in the comfort that was his bed. "This is much softer than the ground." Leon started hopping up and down on the mattress. "This is fun!"

Cinder sat down in his own bed, ignoring Leon's bout of joy. "Settle down, Leon. It's pretty late."

Disappointed, Leon stopped bouncing on his bed. "Sorry." Leon went back to lying down, and closed his eyes. "Good night, Cinder."

Cinder smiled, and lied down in his bed too. "Yeah. Good night, Leon." Cinder yawned afterwards, and fell soundly asleep.

But Leon didn't. He got back up, after he was certain that Cinder had fallen asleep, and rummaged through his bag. He took out the picture frame and the stone, the objects he considered his parents, and set them on the table next to his bed. "Please, mom, dad, protect me from those dreams again."

Leon went back to lie down on his bed, getting himself in a comfortable position. "Good night, mom, dad."

* * *

"Hey, Leon, wake up!" Cinder stood next to Leon's bed, shaking the croc awake.

Leon groaned. "5 more minutes…"

"No, Leon, you have to get up!" Cinder dragged Leon's body to the floor, where the Totodile just fell flat on his face. "Didn't you ask me to make a rescue team with you?"

Leon fumbled to his feet. "Sorry! Let me get ready first!" Leon went to pick his parents up and put them in his bag, and sprinted outside.

Cinder held out his hand to the departing Totodile. "Wait! What about breakfast?"

There were two plates on the floor next to Cinder, one of which was empty, the other with some Oran Berry bread. Cinder picked the plates up, and ran after Leon.

Leon was at the inn's entrance, asking the Furret where the Pelipper Post Office was. As soon as he finished asking for directions, he turned to the Cyndaquil, who still held the two plates.

"Hey, Cinder, I found out where the Pelipper… um…" Leon scratched his head. "Post Office! Yeah, Post Office! I found out where that is!"

Cinder walked up to Leon, offering him the plate full of food. "Here. Breakfast."

Leon looked confusedly at the food. "…Breakfast?"

The Furret looked confusedly at the Totodile. "Breakfast. Don't you know what breakfast is? The most important meal of the day?"

But Cinder didn't question it. Leon was wild, after all. Cinder figured that Leon ate whenever he got hungry.

Leon picked the plate up, staring at the food. "What's this?"

He sniffed the Oran Berry bread. He then licked the bread. "…Is this safe to eat?"

Cinder nodded, and the Furret snickered. Leon blushed a bit after hearing the tan ferret laugh at Leon's question.

Leon took a bite of the Oran Berry bread. The bread was a blend of flavors: a bit mild, not too dry, the bitterness counteracting the sweetness. And the sourness did not distract from the overall taste. While not a true Oran Berry, Leon felt invigorated after even just one bite.

Soon after, he gulped the rest down his jaw. He fell to the floor, rubbing his belly. "That was great!"

The Furret smiled. "Thanks. I made it from scratch."

Cinder pushed the Totodile to his feet. "Let's go." He handed the plates and the key to the Furret. "Thank you for your hospitality. If things don't go as planned today, then we might come back tonight."

The ferret nodded. "Thanks for staying with us! Come again soon!"

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Pine Square**

"So, where is the post office?"

Leon scratched his head, trying to remember the way. He looked around, trying to recall the Furret's words.

"She said it was in the western edge of town, next to the cliff overlooking the seas. Which way is that?"

Cinder looked up at the sun. The sun still seemed like it was rising up to the highest point, indicating that it was still morning. The sun was rising from his right side.

"The western part of town should be that way." Cinder pointed to the left. "Let's go."

Cinder marched forth, leaving Leon baffled. _How did he know that?_ The Totodile asked himself.

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Oak Square**

The sun still hung high in the clear, blue sky.

In Oak Square, many Pokemon were scrambling around, trying to get to work. Cinder was able to identify the many kinds of Pokemon in the city, like Nidorino, Rhyhorn, and even Graveler. Some Pokemon didn't seem like they fit in the forest environment, but Cinder made no comment.

However Leon was impressed with the sheer numbers of Pokemon wandering the streets. He had never seen these types of Pokemon before, and whenever a new species comes into his view, he would stop for a brief moment and stare, engraving the figure into his memory. _So this is how the city works… All I've ever seen was our small house._

Cinder and Leon continued on their way to the Pelipper Post Office, which they were informed stood at the far end of Oak Square.

"So, Leon." Leon didn't listen to Cinder. Instead, he was still gazing at the bustling city. He saw a little Vulpix playing with a small Pichu, and even some Growlithe playing tag. He saw an Ursaring taking its child into a building, where a Clefable handed plates of food over to sitting customers.

"Leon!" Cinder snapped at Leon.

Leon jumped a bit, startled by the Cyndaquil's harsh voice. "What?"

"We should have talked about this earlier, but now might as well be the time."

Leon didn't know what Cinder was thinking. _Talk about what?_

"You know how rescue teams have a name, right?"

_That's what Cinder was talking about. A team name._ Leon nodded his head, clutching on to his bag.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

Leon looked up to the sky, tying to think. "Oh, how about Team Blue?"

"Team… Blue…?" Cinder obviously was appalled by the Totodile's suggestion.

"Yeah, Team Blue! You're blue, I'm blue, the sky's blue, the ocean's blue! Isn't it great?"

Cinder didn't know what to say. In fact, he had to stop to actually reorient his thoughts. _Team Blue?_

"…Um…" He looked at Leon's pleading eyes, which was full of confidence and hope. "I don't know about that name…"

Leon's expression turned to shock. He hung his head low, disappointed. "Is it that bad?"

"No, it's good, but I feel like our name should have some sort of meaning." Cinder tried as best as he could to spare the Totodile's feelings.

Leon looked up to the Cyndaquil. "…Meaning?"

"Yeah, you know. What's our cause, what's our inspiration, what's our drive?"

Leon scratched his head. "How should I know?"

Cinder dropped his jaw. "You're the one who wanted to do this!"

"Well, I just wanted to join a rescue team. I didn't know anything about thinking of a name!"

Cinder and Leon looked to the ground. Pokemon were walking around them, glaring at the two. Cinder looked around, noticing that they were getting in other Pokemons' ways. "Hey Leon, let's go over to that tree. Let's think there." Cinder and Leon walked over to the nearby tree, sat down at its base, and sighed.

Leon took out his picture. "Dad… how are we supposed to function as a good rescue team if we can't even come up with a name?"

Cinder glanced over to Leon's picture. He stared at the majestic arcs again. He recognized them as rainbows, but unlike most rainbows, these appeared outside of the rain. In the picture, there was no sign of any downpour, and the skies were clear behind Cage.

He instantly knew what this picture was of. He has never actually seen it, but has heard stories by elders and older rescuers themselves. The Rainbow of Hope.

"Leon… do you think we can name our rescue team after those?"

Leon looked, confused, at Cinder. "After what?"

"Those." Cinder pointed at the rainbow in the background. "The rainbow."

"I don't know… Team Rainbow? That doesn't sound very cool."

Leon seemed hesitant to agree to Cinder's idea.

"Then, maybe we should take another step forward." Cinder looked up to the sky. "A rainbow represents the known colors of light, right? When you shine a light through a prism, it emulates the image of a rainbow."

Leon did not know what Cinder was talking about. Cinder turned to Leon and saw his confused face.

"Sorry. I guess you wouldn't know much about this stuff." Cinder scratched the back of head, apologetically.

Leon looked up to the sky. "It's okay. I'm sort of following you. You're saying something about naming our team after light. Or maybe even colors."

"That's right." Cinder looked up to the sky with Leon. "But not just one color. All of them. Together, unified. Maybe even mixed together."

Suddenly Leon had a brainstorm. "Wait, mixed together. Cinder! What was it called! T-the thing artists use to mix their colors together?"

"A palette?"

"That's it! Team… Team Palette!" Leon jumped up, excited that he came up with the perfect name.

"Team Palette, huh?" Cinder was intrigued by the name. "Sure. Let's go with that." Cinder got up and held his hand up.

Leon looked at the hand, wondering what Cinder was expecting.

"Come on, don't leave me hanging." Cinder then put his hand down, realizing Leon's expression. "Wait, sorry, I guess you wouldn't know."

Cinder held his hand up again. "Slap my hand with yours. Come on, it's fun."

Leon held up his hand, trembling, unsure of what to do. Then he forced his hand into Cinder's hand, making a loud slapping sound echo around the square.

Leon's face turned to one of horror. "Sorry. I-I didn't mean to—"

Even though Cinder rubbed his hand with his other one, he smiled. "That was great for your first high five. It hurt, but great."

"High... five?"

"Yeah, high five. How should I explain this…" Cinder pondered how to put the meaning of a high five into words for Leon to learn. "It's… just a gesture we use for celebration."

Leon turned his head, still confused.

Cinder continued. "Well, just think of it like this. Say… you just won something. Anything. And someone wanted to congratulate you. Well, that Pokemon would give you a high five to celebrate."

Cinder stared at Leon's unsure face. "…Get it?"

Leon, after a bit of thinking, nodded slightly. "I think, I guess."

Cinder stuck out his hand, this time for a handshake. "Team Palette?"

Leon grabbed the hand and shook it slightly. "Team Palette."

Leon grabbed his picture and put it back in the bag. Cinder and Leon darted down the street, excited to finally sign up to be a rescue team.

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Pelipper Post Office**

"Here we are, Leon. The Pelipper Post Office."

Cinder and Leon stood at the entrance of the post office. Leon was amazed. It stood right at the edge of the cliff, overlooking the seas. The roof was open, with Pelipper flying in and out, gathering and delivering mail to the local inhabitants. And the building itself was in the shape of a Pelipper's head.

Cinder poked Leon's shoulder, catching the croc's attention. "Come on. Let's go in."

Inside, a staircase spiraled downwards. Leon was confused where the stairs would go, but Cinder went down into the abyss. Leon followed Cinder, panicked, hoping that they weren't making a mistake.

And at the bottom, Leon's wish was granted. He looked around, awestruck. There was a gigantic room, with a ceiling miles and miles above their heads. The Pelipper were perched near some desks, organizing mail. Other Pelipper swooped down, carrying empty bags, filling the bag with the mail the desk Pelipper laid out. The carriers would then fly upwards, out the opening in the roof.

And there were no lighting problems. Instead, the room, despite how deep it was, ran on natural light from the sun. _These Pelipper must only work in the daytime_, Leon thought.

Cinder looked over to the Totodile. "You impressed?"

Leon suddenly turned to Cinder, nodding his head. "Yeah. It's so big, compared to outside."

"Yeah, well, most of the post offices around the world are dug down into the ground, letting the Pelipper have more space for sorting and organizing."

One of the Pelipper flew down to greet the two. "Welcome. How may I help you?"

Cinder cleared his throat. "Do you have the papers to sign up new rescue teams?"

The Pelipper flew up. He asked some of his co-workers, and swooped back down, a beak full of paper.

He dropped it on the floor in front of Cinder and Leon, along with a pen. "Don't worry, most of it is just reading the rules. When you're done, feel free to call one of us down so we can send it to HAPPI to officially register you." The Pelipper flew back up, leaving Cinder and Leon to themselves.

Leon turned to Cinder. "What's HAPPI?"

"Helping Adventurous Pokemon Prosper Institution. Basically the ones to help rescue teams function."

"Oh. They must be important."

Cinder nodded. "Of course, but probably not here."

"Why?"

"There are no rescue teams here." Cinder turned his direction to the papers the Pelipper left on the floor. "Anyways, let's take these papers somewhere else. It's kind of dark in here."

Leon looked around. "Really? I kind of like it." He smiled.

"We should still go. I think we should let the Pelipper work in peace."

Cinder took the papers and stuffed them into Leon's bag. The pair then left the Pelipper Post Office, thinking about what will come next.

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Oak Square**

"Hey, Leon." Cinder stopped walking, catching the Totodile's attention. Cinder was reading some of the papers from the post office. "We should really think about getting a place to stay. The inn is nice and all, but it says here that we need a team base."

Leon took the paper, and tried to read it. He grumbled. "How can you read this? It's just a bunch of scratch marks!"

Cinder took the paper back. "It's footprint script. The primary form of writing us 'civs' use."

Leon went to the back of Cinder and glanced at the papers over his shoulder. "Well, it still looks like a bunch of shapes."

"Well, maybe you should try learning it before judging."

Leon looked down. "So what's this about a… bass?"

"Base. A team base. You know, somewhere for our rescue team to gather, maybe even stay. Our official headquarters."

"I see…"

Cinder looked around. "Maybe, if we can find someone, they can tell us where we can buy a house." Then Cinder remembered: they had no money. "But, we won't be able to afford it."

"Don't worry! You would only have to give Isabelle some payments during your stay!"

Cinder and Leon looked around for the source of the voice. They found a Persian, waving from inside a nearby building, and ran inside.

"What did you just say?"

The Persian put his paw down. "You don't need to worry about immediate payment. Isabelle takes money in weekly checks, until you fully paid off the house."

Cinder walked up to the Persian. He was sitting behind a desk, and behind him, a vault made of pure gold was kept, locked up tight.

"Who's Isabelle?"

The Persian turned his head slightly. "Are you out of town? Isabelle, the Wigglytuff that runs the real estate store just down the street, is part of the town committee, helping with public works projects and even gives treats to poor families."

Leon also stepped up to the Persian. "So what you're saying is that Isabelle will let us stay in a home until she comes for the money?"

The Persian laughed. "She sends the bill, but yes, you basically get a free stay for a week."

Cinder waved. "Thanks for your services, mister…"

"Call me Nickel. Nickel the Persian. Nice to meet you, Cyndaquil, Totodile." The Persian smiled.

"Thanks, Nickel. I'm Leon, and this here is my friend, Cinder."

Cinder noticed that Leon didn't stutter like before, when they first met, and when they met Briar. _Maybe he already felt comfortable with Nickel?_

"Well, Leon, Cinder, why don't I tell you the services I give to the community." Persian gestured to his gold safe. "As you can see, I run the local bank. All of the citizens' funds, life savings, any piece of Poke, I store in here. Sometimes I give out loans for Pokemon that need them, like you guys if Isabelle doesn't get her money." Nickel smiled. "And I charge interest, so you'd better pay me immediately, or else the amount will increase each day."

Cinder stared at Nickel. "How much?"

"10%. The price to pay when you have no money. And it's 10% of the current owe, meaning the amount you would owe me will skyrocket when neglected."

Leon gulped. "Well, I hope we won't need to do that anytime soon."

"Well, just don't try to rob people, okay? Don't want to end up an outlaw, do you?"

Cinder nodded. "Thanks, Nickel. We'll go talk to Isabelle right away!"

"Bye! Remember, my bank will store your money, no problem!" The Persian waved goodbye to his new potential customers.

Cinder and Leon walked down the street, looking for Isabelle's shop. Cinder noticed that the area was similar to Pine Square, but of course, Oak Square had oak trees where the pine trees were, and the oak trees didn't reach as high up as the pines did. Instead, they were about level with the street lamps.

"Hey look!" Leon pointed across Cinder's face, towards a building with a pink rabbit on top of the door. "Is that a Wigglytuff?"

Cinder examined the picture. "Yes. Yes it is. Let's go." Cinder rushed for the door, and Leon scrambled to follow him.

* * *

**Isabelle's Homes**

In the store, a lone Wigglytuff slept behind her desk. There were no customers, and the windows weren't open, allowing no light into the darkened room.

Cinder walked up to the desk, and nudged the Wigglytuff. "Hello?"

"Ugh…?" The Wigglytuff woke up, stretching her arms wide. "Oh, a customer."

Leon burst through the door, breathing heavily. "Cinder! Don't you know how heavy this bag is?"

Cinder let out a smug smile. "Whoops. Sorry, Leon."

Cinder turned back to the Wigglytuff, who went on to continue. "Welcome to Isabelle's Homes. Of course, I am Isabelle. So, what type of house do you need? Cheap? Large? Luxurious?"

"We want a team base, Isabelle." Cinder sat on a chair in front of Isabelle's desk. "Preferably one that can also double as a home for… about three, maybe."

Leon took another seat next to Cinder. "Three?"

"Well, if we're going to make a rescue team, we should at least consider new recruits. What if they aren't from town? Then where would they need to stay?"

Wigglytuff reached down under her desk and took a large book out. She started to skim through it, looking at many different kinds of houses, from simple domes to luxurious mansions. Cinder noticed that pages seemed to be torn out or crossed out with black ink, but he figured that those must be the ones she already sold.

"Here! The perfect team base! A lovely, breathtaking view, and lots of living space. Yep, enough for, hmm, about thirteen Pokemon."

Leon smashed his foot against the side of the desk in shock. "Thirteen?! That sounds expensive."

Isabelle shook her head. "No. In fact, it says here that the cost isn't very much. Just 2000 Poke, for the whole thing." She snickered. "Such a great house, for a price so cheap. I wonder why…"

Cinder felt nervous. _What's wrong with this house?_

Isabelle closed her book, and walked around her desk to the door. "Okay, guys, follow me to your new house."

"Wait! Don't we get a say in this?" Cinder yelled to Isabelle.

"Nope! Come on!"

Leon got up from the seat and walked towards the door. He noticed Cinder still sitting at the desk. "Hey Cinder, come on!"

Cinder awoke from his thoughts, and quickly got up. "Coming!"

Cinder and Leon quickly followed Isabelle, who marched to the southeast. "Your home is pretty far from here, so it'll take a while to get there."

_Just where is it?_ Cinder's mind was confused by this real estate agent. _What's wrong with the house? Is it haunted? Is it torn down, or abandoned? Did some Pokemon die in there? Is it actually a mystery dungeon?_

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Southeastern Outskirts**

"Here it is!" Isabelle stopped on the edge of a cliff, the exact same cliff that Cinder and Leon made their promise on. "Welcome to your new home!"

Cinder glared at the Wigglytuff. "So our team base is just a cliff? No wonder it's cheap!" Cinder's rage was starting to build, and his fire almost ignited, if it weren't for Leon spraying a little bit of water on his back.

"Just watch." The Wigglytuff walked over to a nearby pile of leaves, and revealed a secret door on the cliff's ground. Cinder and Leon gazed in amazement. Isabelle opened the door, and looked at the two Pokemon. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come in."

Cinder and Leon followed Isabelle down the stairs. It led to a large, empty room, where a hole in the wall allowed the light to come in, and for Cinder and Leon to marvel on their feet.

They saw the entirety of Evergreen Ridge, from the Pelipper Post Office to the Evergreen Academy to the left, and the Majesty Gardens to the right, and the Great Tree almost just ahead.

"Well, what do you think of the living room?"

Cinder looked back to Isabelle. "Living room? You mean there's more?"

On the opposite side of the opening, there was a door. Isabelle opened it, revealing that it led to even more stairs, leading deeper down the cliff.

Down the stairs, the three found a break off point in the staircase, where a long hallway, with about thirteen doors, each leading to a wide spaced room. Cinder and Leon ran down the halls, checking each room. Most of them looked the same, but the one on the end was wide, with enough space to put a hot spring _and_ a restaurant.

The walls in both the rooms and the hall had torches, that flickered on and off on command.

Cinder and Leon were excited to find what the next floor had to offer. They scurried down the stairs, leaving Isabelle to have to quickly follow them.

Downstairs, the last floor, there was only a door. Cinder and Leon scrambled to open the door, almost having to crawl on top of each other, and found that it led to the outside. Outside to Pine Square. On the left side of the street, there was a storage house, run by a Kangaskhan and her little kid. On the other side, there was a large shop. Two Kecleon brothers ran that shop, one green, the other purple.

Cinder and Leon walked out, and Isabelle followed. She seemed out of breath. "So… Did you like it?"

"Yeah! It's amazing!" Leon jumped in the air, joyful that they found the perfect home.

"But only one problem." Cinder looked at Isabelle, with a glare that scared her. "What's the deal with this house?"

"The deal?"

"Yeah, why is it so cheap?" Cinder walked up into the Wigglytuff's face, demanding answers.

"That would be because of me." A mysterious voice sounded from the direction of the cliff side, and Cinder turned to see who it was. He recognized the voice. There, a Venusaur stood, next to a young Bulbasaur, a Meganium, a Chikorita, a Goodra, and a sign post.

The Venusaur walked up to Cinder, Leon, and Isabelle. "Nice to see you again, little ones."

Leon ran up to the Venusaur. "Briar! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm just part of the welcoming committee. It's not every day that the son of a local hero comes and tries to set a rescue team up for the whole town, now is it?"

Leon backed up a bit. "You know?"

"Of course, Leon. Took me a while, but I recognized your face. You were a little lad when you left with your mom, after your dad departed, right?"

Leon nodded and gulped. "So, why are you doing this? Don't you know I'm—"

"Why would that matter?" The Chikorita walked up to Leon. "As long as you don't cause any trouble, then I'm sure that our citizens will be glad to have you." She smiled.

The Meganium also walked up with the Chikorita. "Sorry, kids. My daughter here doesn't like Pokemon in pain. Either physically or emotionally." He extended a vine to Cinder. "Come here, lad. Come on, don't be afraid."

The Cyndaquil scoffed. "I'm not scared." He walked up to where everyone gathered, and Isabelle followed.

"I'm Bloom, the mayor of our fair city. And this is my daughter, Lily. She likes to go around town and help out with chores and the like."

The Chikorita bowed. "Nice to meet you two. Briar told me you two were starting a rescue team, so I thought I'd plan a hero's welcome." She smiled. Leon turned away, blushing.

"And this…" Briar took a vine and grabbed the little Bulbasaur standing next to the Goodra. "Is my son, Saur. Say hello, Saur." He nudged the small plant Pokemon forward towards Cinder and Leon.

"H-hello." The Bulbasaur's voice was barely audible, but Cinder and Leon still got the message. Saur fell back to behind his father.

"Sorry about my son, he's just very shy." The Venusaur turned around, staring at the Goodra. "Hey, Gary, come over here!"

The Goodra walked forward, dripping slime to the floor with each step. "Hey, kids. I'm Gary, the chief of police here." He extended his hand to Cinder, but the young Pokemon declined, seeing the dragon's slime drip to the ground. "Heh, I don't blame you." He took his hand back, and smiled slightly. "I look forward to working with you kids."

Leon nodded. "Me too."

Briar walked back to where they stood before. "Come here." Cinder and Leon followed Briar to the signboard on the side of the cliff. There was only one piece of paper posted on there.

"This… is your official message board."

Leon looked at Briar. "Message… board?"

Cinder poked Leon to catch his attention. "The message board is filled with important information for us to know, and any rescue missions we may need to perform."

Leon looked back to the board. "Really?" He grabbed the one piece of paper on the board. He tried to make out the message, but gave up after a bit. "Here, you read it."

Leon gave Cinder the paper, and Cinder read it out loud. "'Newsflash. A new rescue team is about to form here, in our beloved city. I know it's been a while since a proper rescue team made its home here, but please, be kind and supportive. These kids have dreams, so any troubles you may have, don't hesitate to give them. Any requests not taken by noon time will be automatically be taken care of by the police, so you don't need to worry about your task not being done. Have a great day, Evergreen Ridge.'

"…Is this for us, or for everyone?"

Everyone else walked up to the signboard. Lily giggled. "This is posted all around town. We thought you'd want that to remind you of your first day living here."

Gary turned to leave. "I've got to get back to work. Rescuers. Remember, we're on your side."

Gary walked away, leaving only the grass types left as the welcoming committee. Isabelle seemed to have already departed, having given the keys to Mayor Bloom.

Briar picked the signboard up. "Well, time to move this."

Cinder was confused. "Move it where?"

"Your living room. What, you think we're just going to leave something very important just sitting around outside, where everyone can mess with it? No, it's better if it stays safe inside."

Cinder continued. "But our living room has a gigantic hole in it…"

Briar walked into the door. "Don't worry. It's able to close."

Everyone followed Briar up the stairs, and settled down in the living room. Cinder and Leon sat across from Bloom and Lily, while Saur sat close by Bloom, wanting to leave. Briar set the board up in the empty wall, across the stairs leading to the top of the cliff. It seemed a perfect fit.

"Only the Pelipper are able to open this window naturally from outside. They will be the ones to update it each night."

Bloom raised a vine, and snapped. "Briar, I think it's time for the feast."

Briar turned around from the board, smiling. "Ah, yes. The feast."

Leon looked at them both, excited. "Feast? Really?"

Lily snickered. "Of course. Didn't you realize? It's almost nightfall."

Cinder and Leon looked outside the window. The sun was already setting.

Cinder looked to Leon. "It's better than yesterday. I don't even think we ate last night." He smiled.

"Well…" Leon paused. "I might have gotten a _little_ snack on the way back from the forest…"

Cinder glared at Leon. "Really? Again?"

Lily looked confusedly at the two. "What? What?"

"Oh, nothing, Lily." Leon laughed softly. "Nothing at all."

At that moment, Isabelle walked up the stairs, holding plates of food. "Delivery!"

"Wait, Isabelle." Cinder looked at the Wigglytuff with questions. "Did you go to buy the food yourself?"

"No, silly." Isabelle set the food on the floor. "You ought to get some furniture, first. Anyways, my brother, Clef, owns a restaurant, and sometimes I get free food." She smiled.

Everyone looked at the food, waiting for Cinder and Leon to take the first bites.

"Well?" Lily caught Cinder's and Leon's attentions. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Cinder nodded, and Leon instantly dove right in. There were many different kinds of food, such as Miltank milk, Tauros legs, Berry salad, and even some Tamato Berry pie. Soon after, everyone reached in to grab some grub, and chewed on to their heart's delight.

After a little time has passed, while everyone was eating, Cinder decided to step out to the cliff top. He stared at the setting sun, once again, his worries flowing away. "I could probably get used to this." Cinder looked to the skies above. They glowed a bright orange mixed with blue, again, no clouds to be seen. "Dad… I'm finally doing it. I'll show you that I'm not a little kid anymore."

"Hey, Cinder!" Leon ran up the stairs, and grabbed Cinder. "Come on! You have to help me!"

"What? Did something happen?"

Leon shook his head. "You need to help me with the forms! I can't read! Lily already got started, but we need help!"

"Sorry, I'll be quick."

Leon understood, and went back into the house.

Cinder turned back to the sky. "I'm better now. I'm… not sad anymore, not like before. Please… watch over me…"

Cinder got up and ran back into the house. Bloom allowed for Lily to stay late with Cinder and Leon, and he departed along with Briar, Saur, and Isabelle.

* * *

"Hey, Cinder! Who's going to be the leader?" Lily pointed to a section on one of the papers, saying that a team leader must be present.

Cinder turned to Leon. "Well, do you want to be leader?"

Leon fidgeted with his fingers again. "I don't think I'm qualified. You should be the leader, Cinder."

Cinder nodded. "If that's what you want."

Lily picked her pen up and wrote Cinder's name. "There. Cinder is now the leader of Team Palette."

After a long night of reading and writing, and of course, teaching Leon some basic reading knowledge, the trio finished filling out the forms. He didn't seem to understand the concepts, and struggled with learning what marking means what.

Cinder held them up, proudly. "After we give this to the Pelipper, we'll be an official rescue team."

Lily grabbed the papers. "I'll go give this to them."

Leon snatched the papers from Lily. "I'll go with her." He blushed. "I-it might be dangerous alone."

Lily nodded. "I'm not gonna argue." She turned to Cinder. "Good luck."

Cinder nodded back. "It was nice to meet you. And thanks for helping us out."

Lily took a vine and waved goodbye. She walked down the stairs, with Leon following, leaving Cinder all alone in the living room.

He looked out the window, gazing at the stars. "Someday…" He found a board sticking upwards on the top of the window, and folded it down, closing it.

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Pelipper Post Office**

There was a knock on the door. A lone Pelipper answered. "Hello. Oh, you're the one who wanted to sign up for a rescue team."

Leon handed the Pelipper the papers. "Here you go. All filled out."

The Pelipper scanned through the papers, and put them in his bag. "This'll go right away to HAPPI. Don't worry, we'll get their response before morning comes." The Pelipper closed the door.

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Oak Square**

Leon and Lily walked through the dark streets, barely illuminated by the lamps.

"So, Lily…" Leon had troubles forming his words. "W-where exactly is your house?"

"My house is right in front of the Great Tree. In fact, you can see it from your place."

Leon blushed. "R-really?" Lily noticed he looked troubled.

"Is there something wrong? Do you need to see the doctor? There's a clinic not far from here, so if you—"

"No! Um… It's just, uh… nervousness?"

"Oh." Lily stared straight ahead. "I know, starting a rescue team can probably be pressuring, but I think it could be fun. Going on journeys, helping Pokemon in need, making new friends…"

Leon drifted away from the conversation, too focused on the Chikorita's beauty. _She seems so sweet and nice… Why do I feel this way around her? It's not like she'll snap at me if I make the wrong move… right?_

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Great Tree District**

"Hey, Leon?"

"Huh?" Leon had not noticed that they were already in front of Lily's house. The walls stretched very high, and the structure seemed more secure than most other houses in the area.

"Leon, aren't you going to answer my question?"

"W-what question?"

"How is it like… you know, to be out in the open? I'm sure you know, you lived out there, right?"

"Yeah…" Leon looked out into the darkness. "It's not bad, but you probably wouldn't want to be out there…"

"Why? You think I'm weak?"

Sweat flew off Leon's skin. "No, not that, just… the ferals will always be attacking, looking for their next meal. A normal civ like yourself might be exhausted from the endless fighting before you could get to the end."

"Really? It's like that?" Lily paused. "Anyways, thanks for offering to walk me home. But I can handle myself." Lily opened her door, and walked inside. "Besides, I've come back later than this."

Lily shut the door, leaving Leon in the darkness. Leon thumped his head. "What's wrong with me? Why couldn't I have a normal conversation with her?"

Leon turned to go back to his home, and was surprised that he could see the opening in the living room from his location. He was confused as to why it was boarded up, but he figured Cinder closed it after he and Lily left. "Well, time to go…"

Leon started to walk back to the base, but suddenly turned around. He looked at the Great Tree, like it was talking to him. "What? Save… the world? From what?"

But the tree fell silent to him. Leon shrugged it off, thinking that it was just his tired mind playing tricks on him.

But the tree emitted a faint light. _A fearless foe is hiding, in another nation. He has plans to come here. Be careful, wild. Be careful._

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Team Palette Base**

"So, Leon, as leader, I'll take the really large room, okay?"

Leon glared at Cinder. "Really? You're playing that card already?"

Cinder and Leon were arguing about who gets which room. Cinder thought he could use some privacy, so he wanted to have a room all to himself, but Leon thought it unfair that Cinder gets to choose.

"Come on, Leon. You'll get a room all to yourself, and I'll get one all to myself."

"But you shouldn't be the one to get the large room. We should have that room be shared with everyone."

"Fine. Then we'll go back to our first agreement." Cinder walked to the left side of the hall, next to the gigantic doors. "I'll take this room, and you take that one."

Leon stopped Cinder from opening the door. He crossed his arms. "No. You're not leaving me alone."

"You'll be with your parents. It'll be fine."

Leon laughed. "Did you actually think those things are my parents?"

Cinder was surprised. He has always thought Leon thought his objects were his parents, but it seems like he was wrong. "Then why do you talk to them like they are?"

"Because… those things are the only things I have… that I still feel connected to them through…"

"Really?" Suddenly, Cinder felt guilty. He didn't think that Leon would probably want to still feel connected to his parents, especially since he lived all alone.

"Just like you and that sky."

Cinder glanced at Leon. "What do you—"

"You said something about your dad when you were up there earlier. It's the same as me, that picture, and that stone."

"…I'm sorry." Cinder turned away from Leon. "I didn't realize."

Leon smiled. "It's okay."

Cinder opened the door, and waved his hand towards the door. Leon just stared, wondering what Cinder was doing. "Well?" Cinder asked. "Aren't you coming in?"

"…Really?"

Cinder nodded his head. "Really. There's space for four Pokemon, so two in here won't feel cramped. Besides…" Cinder looked at the large door at the end wall of the hall. "We could probably use that room as a meeting room or something."

Leon grabbed his bag and walked into the room. "Thanks, Cinder."

"You're welcome."

Inside of the room, there was only one bed. The room was only set up for one Pokemon, so Cinder and Leon would have to compromise.

"I'll take the floor." Leon dropped his bag on the floor on the other side of the room as the bed, claiming it as his own. "Any objections?"

Cinder sat on the bed. "Wouldn't you want the bed? You seemed happy with it yesterday."

"But I had troubles falling asleep." Leon lied down on the floor. "The bed was soft, obviously, but it didn't feel natural to me. I couldn't help but feel… awkward."

Cinder looked down to the Totodile. "Sorry you felt that way. If it helps, we could probably get a patch of grass or batch of hay to make the ground feel less… you know, hard."

"I'd really like that. But for now… Off." The torches all around the base turned themselves off. "Goodnight, Cinder."

"Goodnight, Leon."

Cinder's mind was not at ease, however. He laid awake, thoughts spinning around in his head. _Will we be as good as Team Quakers? Will we be able to live up to the citizens' expectations?_

Cinder stared up to the torch that would be lighting the room. _Why don't I feel scared of these? Because it gives light to the room? No… there's something else about these… Something soothing… Something familiar…_


	5. Chapter 4: The First Mission

"Mom, what's happening?"

"Shh!" The Feraligatr shut the mouth of her child. "Be quiet. They'll hear."

She and her little Totodile child were hiding deep in the woods, under the cover of the night and some bushes. "The Midnight Forest should be safe for us to hide in. No one will follow us there."

The Feraligatr took her own body out of the bushes. The Totodile followed carefully.

"Mom, why did we leave home? What if dad comes back and we're not there anymore?"

Lights flickered in the distance. The Feraligatr took her son back into the bushes. "Please, son, things are… complicated right now. So remember, be a good boy and do as you're told, okay?"

The Totodile nodded his head. The Feraligatr rubbed him on the head, her eyes tearing up. "That's my good boy."

A Machamp and Zoroark appeared from the lights, carrying lanterns.

"Hey, Roark, are you sure they came in here?"

"Of course, Champ. I'm sure of it. Those two ferals couldn't have gone far."

The Machamp stopped walking, halting the Zoroark as well. "Do we have to do this? Just because Tory came from out here, doesn't mean that we should be hunting them down."

"Champ, don't you realize? If we complete this outlaw mission, then we'll get tons of money. Enough to keep our team running, even without Cage."

The Machamp wore a stern face. "We don't have to do this, Roark. Team Quakers can do fine, even if Cage isn't here."

The Zoroark burst into an outrage. "No, we can't! Now that Cage is gone, we need some way to get them still interested. You know, make sure to please all of their demands."

"But Roark, a good rescue team helps people, not kill innocents."

"Shut up! Just keep searching!"

The Zoroark left the Machamp alone in the forest. The Machamp picked his lantern up, and went the direction of the Zoroark.

After the coast is clear, the Feraligatr and Totodile jumped out of the bushes.

The Feraligatr looked in the direction the two Pokemon left in. The lights faded as they trailed off into the distance. "Good, they're gone."

She turned back to her son. "Look, we have to escape." She turned to the direction of the fading lights. "The Midnight Forest seems to be the only way we can go. The Sinister Woods exit has been compromised for us."

She lifted the Totodile into her hands, and ran the opposite direction of the lights. "Don't worry, Leon. Everything will be alright." The Totodile clung on to his mother, afraid.

"Hey! It's them!"

"Stop them!"

Two familiar voices sounded from behind them. The Totodile shut his eyes, hoping for this nightmare to be over.

* * *

"Leon!"

* * *

"Don't worry, son. We're gonna be okay." The Feraligatr panicked, knowing that the pursuers weren't going to quit. "Everything's going to be alright, son. Don't worry, your mom is here for you."

* * *

"Stop! Are you mad?!"

**Evergreen Ridge, Team Palette Base, Cinder and Leon's Room**

Leon woke up with a singeing bump on his head.

He opened his eyes, and realized that his position has moved from his resting place last night. He looked at Cinder, who was patting his flames off of his back.

After his flames were put out, Cinder turned angrily to the Totodile. "What's wrong with you!? Trying to eat someone in their sleep?"

Leon tilted his head, confused by the Cyndaquil's words. "Eat? What're you talking about?" Leon laughed a bit, hoping to make the situation less tense.

The Cyndaquil showed Leon his neck. Red holes, organized in the same manner as the fangs in Leon's jaw, were punctured deep inside the Cyndaquil's skin. "Your jaws were around my neck when I woke up." He spit a star at Leon's head. "Be happy I noticed before you ate my head. Or else I would've come back to haunt you."

The star hit Leon on his burned bump. He rubbed it to soothe the pain away. "Sorry, Cinder."

The Cyndaquil turned away from Leon. "Well, just make sure it never happens again."

Leon's pain did not seem to go away. "What happened? Did you…"

Cinder glared at Leon. "I threw you off my head into the wall. Your eyes were open, but completely red." He pointed his hand to Leon. "You came charging back at me, so I yelled. But you didn't seem to hear me at all! So I had to—"

Leon waved his hands, telling the Cyndaquil to stop. "Okay, I get it." Leon sat down, pushing his hands together. "Sorry…"

Cinder loosened his anger. "Hey, Leon, tell me." Leon looked up at the Cyndaquil, who still sat on his bed. "What was it and that 'Everything is going to be alright' thing? You kept mumbling those words last night."

Leon looked back to the stone floor. "Sorry. It was just a nightmare. I've been having them frequently, lately…"

"Really? What about?"

Leon turned his body away from Cinder. "…Nothing. Just…things."

Cinder climbed out of his bed, and stood in front of the Totodile. "What things?"

"…Memories… Bad memories…"

Leon once again shifted his body away from the Cyndaquil. Cinder placed a hand on Leon's back.

"Sorry. Would it help to talk about it?" Cinder felt awkward, saying those words.

But Leon shook his head. "Don't worry. That's in the past." He got up, and picked his bag up. "Let's go to the living room. We should find our first job before noon."

Cinder watched Leon open the door and leave. "…I wonder what happened that was so horrible."

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Team Palette Base, Living Room**

Cinder walked up the stairs, and saw Leon leering at the board. There were three pieces of paper stuck to it.

"So, what is there?" Cinder walked up to the Totodile, who didn't turn away from the papers.

"…Wait for it…" Leon was trying to read the papers, to decipher the strange marks.

Leon's head drooped down. "I give up. You read." Leon stepped to the side, allowing the Cyndaquil to walk up and read the papers.

The first one he saw was a letter, congratulating them on becoming an official rescue team, from HAPPI. Cinder decided to skip that one.

The next one was a one star ranked mission, involving the Vulcan Canyon, a four day trip to the east. As much as Cinder would have liked to take this job, he decided against it, due to their team being newly formed and needing experience before taking something so dangerous.

Cinder grabbed the last request, a simple item retrieval mission to the Midnight Forest to the north.

"Here. How about this one?" Leon looked over Cinder's shoulder, trying to read the note.

Cinder cleared his throat, and read the paper out loud.

_Dear Team Palette, I lost my precious Viridian Bow in the Midnight Forest last night. I'm scared of being attacked by the ferals, so could you go find it for me?_

_Client: ?_

_Location: Midnight Forest, Sector 7 (Last Sector)_

_Rank: D_

_Reward: ?_

The Cyndaquil looked behind him to the shocked Totodile.

"…Midnight…Forest…?" The Totodile started walking around with a fast pace, panicking.

Cinder watched Leon wander the room. "What's wrong?"

"Midnight Forest? I thought I'd never see that place again…"

"Leon, tell me! What's wrong?" Cinder raised his voice, trying to catch the blue croc's attention.

"Shut up, civ!" Leon snapped at Cinder. He sat down, covering his eyes.

"Why? Why that place? Of all the mystery dungeons in the world, why that place?"

Cinder walked up to Leon. "You know, if you want, we don't have to take this mission. We can leave both of these to the police, and we can do something else."

Leon shook his head. "No, it's our first day, we have to—"

A cry came from outside the window. A Pelipper flew inside, holding a huge box. "Delivery."

He dropped the box in the center of the room. He turned back to the window. "It's from HAPPI. Have a nice day." The Pelipper flew back out the window.

Cinder walked up to the box and opened it. "It's here!"

Leon got up and looked in the box with him. "What?"

Inside, there were many identical looking badges, a rolled up piece of paper, and a tan bag with a bluish strap.

"What are these?" Leon picked one of the badges up, twisting it around, staring at it.

"That's the Team Badge. It lets people know we're part of a rescue team." Cinder picked one up as well. "I had Lily draw the design. I'm surprised that they made all of these in such a short amount of time."

The badge was an ovular shape, with several circular indents surrounding the middle. The shape resembled a palette, with a gem in the badge resembling the hole present on an actual palette.

Cinder picked up some of the other badges, and dropped them back into the box. "Each one of these have the same details. It's unbelievable."

Leon poked at the gem. It was a pink color, and didn't seem to budge from the spot. "What's this?"

Cinder looked at the badge in his hand, rubbing the gem. "This gem lets people know your team's rank."

"…Rank?" Leon turned his head, not knowing much about rescue teams.

"Yeah, rank. Each team has a certain rank. For example, this pink gem will turn green once we move up from Normal Rank to Bronze Rank. Every team starts at Normal, and goes up in rank as they complete more difficult missions." Cinder continued to stare at the gem on the badge. "The highest rank is Perfect Rank, where the gem is a pure white. But nobody has been able to get there. Only to Master rank, a black colored gem."

Leon stared deeply into the gem. "This changes color?"

"Yep. The leader of HAPPI, a Mew, uses his psychic power to change all of a team's badges to the next color to indicate a rank increase."

Leon's jaw dropped. "The leader of HAPPI is a Mew? That thing only spoken of in legend?"

Cinder nodded. "Yeah. I've met him once, and he was very nice."

Leon turned his head to Cinder, still shocked. "You met Mew?"

"Yeah. Anyways, the highest rank achieved was Master Rank, and that was only achieved by one team. Team Quakers."

Leon looked down to the bag hung over his shoulder. "Dad…"

Cinder reached into the box and grabbed the paper. He unrolled it, and revealed an image of some weird, detailed shapes, with clouds on the borders of the map. "This is the Wonder Map. This map allows us to navigate to any chosen destination. This map shows the entire world." Cinder pointed to a dense forest on the southern tip of a large continent. "This is our location, Evergreen Ridge. The Midnight Forest should be… around here." Cinder shifted his hand a little right, then up.

Leon shivered at the thought of the Midnight Forest. "Can we not talk about that?"

"Oh, sorry. Anyways, this is really helpful to explorers that need to know where they're going."

Cinder took the bag out of the box. He spun it, taking a look at all of the compartments and pockets.

"This is the Treasure Bag. Explorers take one of these into dungeons to keep the things they brought in and pick up." Cinder looked at Leon's bag. "It's very similar to the one you have, in fact."

Leon put his hand on his bag and stared at it. He looked to the one Cinder held, and back. "It…kinda does…"

"You know, that might have been your dad's Treasure Bag before he gave it to you."

Leon grabbed the bag from Cinder. He put both bags on the ground, comparing them. "…Mine is smaller than this one." He gave Cinder the team bag back. "By the way, my mom gave this bag to me, not dad."

Leon looked away from Cinder, a tear forming in his eye. "Anyways, so about the bag… What about supplies? Don't we need some?"

Cinder pointed at Leon's bag. "You have stuff in there we can use."

Leon took his bag, hugging it. "What?"

"Yeah, just some berries, and maybe two Apples, just in case we get hungry, and we're set."

Leon took the desired items out of his bag, and set them in the other one. "There. Is that it? Just food?"

Cinder took the team bag. "Not just 'food'. Well, maybe the Apples are just food. But Oran berries restore our energy, and Pecha berries cure poison."

Leon took the two scarves and the bow out of his bag also. "What about these? Are these important?"

"That blue one is a Defense Scarf. That raises your defense when you wear it, meaning you can take more hits. The pink one is a Pecha Scarf, which negates poison when you wear it. That gold bow… That's a Golden Bow. That doesn't do much, but make you look nice. You can probably get some money if you sell it."

Leon stared at the three items in his hands. He put the bow in his bag, and threw the Pecha Scarf to Cinder. "Don't lose it."

Leon went back down the stairs. While waiting for Leon to come back up, he decided to put the scarf on. "Arceus, I hate pink."

In their room, Leon put his bag on the floor. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." He looked at the blue scarf he held, and wrapped it around his neck. He felt his body become denser, like his skin had suddenly become more impenetrable.

He walked over to the door, and looked back. "Thanks, dad." Leon closed the door, the torch lights dimming down, leaving the bag in the dark.

He ran back up the stairs, and saw that Cinder had already put the Pecha Scarf on.

"Hey Leon. About the mission…" Cinder held the paper up. "Are you okay with going to Midnight Forest? The other mission is really far from here, and really difficult, so there isn't much choice left."

"It's okay." Leon took the Treasure Bag from Cinder. "I'll take the bag. Let's go, okay?" Leon walked up the stairs to the top of the cliff.

Cinder stared at the stairs, lost in his own thoughts. _I wonder what's with him and the Midnight Forest. Oh well. Only time will tell._

Cinder followed Leon up the stairs. At the top of the cliff, Leon sat at the edge, staring at the sunrise.

"Are you ready, Leon?"

Leon got up and nodded. "Let's get this over with."

His right hand, on the bag, clenched into a fist, and his eyes glowed with courage. "No dungeon is going to scare me," they said.

Cinder and Leon departed for the north, determined to make their first mission a success.

* * *

**Midnight Forest, Entrance**

"I can't see in front of me. Hey Cinder…"

"What?"

"…Never mind."

Cinder and Leon walked through the woods. The Midnight Forest, a mystery dungeon, stood before them. Even though it was morning time, and the sun was bright when they were traveling from the south, the sun seemed to disappear from the sky, leaving the two in the dark.

Cinder felt around, locating the Totodile's red scales in front of him.

"There has to be a way to see around here…"

"But Cinder, if we can't see, how will we be able to find it?"

Cinder sighed. "Okay fine. I'll light my flames. But this had better be worth it!"

Cinder breathed in slowly. Leon turned around to the Cyndaquil, assuming he stood right there. The darkness was so strong, he couldn't see his hand right in front of his face.

Then, a light shone right in front of him. It was a green color, not what Leon expected. The green came from the flames on Cinder's back, which illuminated the area.

"There. Is that better?" Cinder shivered, trying to keep his fear from bothering him.

Leon can only look at Cinder without any words. _I thought his flames were black!_

Cinder stared at Leon for a second, then looked at his flames. "Oh, crap…"

Leon pointed at Cinder's flame. "Y-your fire. I-it's green. B-but it was b-black before…"

"Leon, just calm down. And please, don't tell anyone." Cinder made his way to the entrance of Midnight Forest. "Let's just finish this quickly."

Cinder walked into the forest, and Leon followed him.

A pair of eyes looked at them from a distance. "…They're sitting ducks with that light on them…"

* * *

**Midnight Forest, Sector 1**

Cinder took the lead, with Leon dragging on with the team's supply bag. Cinder looked around, often trembling, his flames flickering whenever he does. Leon did his best to keep Cinder from putting his light out in fear.

"So, Cinder. Can you tell me more about mystery dungeons? You know, just to pass the time."

Cinder sighed. "Do you know the nature of mystery dungeons?"

The Totodile shook his head. "All I know is that they are difficult to travel through." He paused to think. "But no one really told me why."

"Well, first off, a mystery dungeon is created due to a distortion in time and space."

"Time… and space…?"

Cinder stopped at a three way fork in the road, and took the right path. Leon quickly followed.

"Yes, time and space. You see, when you enter a mystery dungeon, it feels like you enter another space. Everything seems twisted up and unnatural, like those trees and grass back in Sinister Woods."

"Really?"

"Yeah, the trees did not match the outside of the dungeon, and the grass didn't seem to move. The space distortion doesn't end there, though. It also causes the layout of the mystery dungeon to change. Scientists have proven this theory true. Every time they entered a mystery dungeon, even if it was the same mystery dungeon, they'd always get lost. They claim the dungeons always change, and since explorers also confirm this, no one argues with it."

Leon scratched his head, processing the information. "And how does time relate?"

"The time that passes in mystery dungeons is odd. Sometimes, objects inside a dungeon can be affected, like these trees." Cinder walked up to one, and rubbed his hand on the bark.

"These trees seem to be decomposing, but they don't seem like they were here longer than the ones outside, who seem just fine. They must be stuck in a state of life and death."

Cinder continued on, lecturing Leon. "Another example would be the grass in Sinister Woods."

Leon's face was filled with doubt. "Really? The grass has always looked the same."

"Well, it looked the same, but it didn't flow right. Did you notice? Even when the winds blew, the grass stood still. They were frozen in time, forever on their side."

"I never noticed that before."

Cinder turned back to Leon, still walking forward. "That's not all that's affected by time. In a mystery dungeon, time can seem to pass either faster or slower than outside, depending on luck. Your wounds will heal faster, but your stomach will empty just as fast too, so that's why bringing food in is important.

"Now, you obviously know the feral Pokemon. Many believe that the fluctuations of the dungeon corrupt their mind, but others think they just don't have the same amount of knowledge as us. Either way, for some reason, they live in mystery dungeons, for unknown reasons."

Cinder stopped talking as he saw the entrance to the next sector. "There's the next section."

Leon peered at the space in front of them, seeing nothing. "How can you tell? Sinister Woods had stairs, so I understand that, but how about here?"

"Well, you just have to look closely. When you get used to exploring, you'll be able to see the distorted air around a mystery dungeon's area, and inside a dungeon, the same distortions appear when advancing to another part of the dungeon."

"Really?" Leon stared at the space, trying to detect the distortions. "I think I see it. It looks all fuzzy, though."

Cinder nodded his head. "Exactly."

Cinder walked forward, and disappeared in front of Leon. The dark scared him. He ran after Cinder, hoping they didn't get separated.

* * *

**Midnight Forest, Sector 2**

Leon rushed forward, relieved that he could see. Cinder was right in front of him, looking back.

"So, did you expect that?"

Leon shook his head. "You scared me!"

The Cyndaquil chuckled. "Sorry."

"Fricken civ…"

Leon followed Cinder as they continued on the forest. The darkness seemed to grow even deeper with each step.

"Now, here comes the most mysterious part of mystery dungeons. When a Pokemon faints, they get ejected out of the dungeon. The distorted space would dissipate, letting the Pokemon have a chance to escape the area before the curse traps them again. But this doesn't seem to happen to the feral Pokemon. They will just lie there, unconscious. No one knows why this happens, but it does."

Cinder turned left at another fork in the road. "Usually, a Pokemon may become lost due to this, but an explorer always has a failsafe just in case they fall." Cinder pointed to the badge he wore on the Pecha Scarf. "This teleports our bodies whenever we fall or command it to take us out of the dungeon. This makes rescuing Pokemon so much easier."

Leon looked at his badge, worn on his Defense Scarf. "This can help us leave?"

"Yes. That's why they are produced. Not only do they identify you with a rescue team, but they are essential for exploring a mystery dungeon."

Leon fumbled around with his badge, thinking about Cinder's words. "What else should I know about mystery dungeons?"

Cinder took some time to think. "Other than the fact that, in most dungeons, you can't turn back, and the wind, which I told you earlier, nothing that comes to mind. Just watch out for wild – I mean, feral Pokemon."

Leon nodded. "Got it." He stared ahead, his eyes squinting. "I think we're at the next section."

"Let's go. Only five more to go."

Cinder and Leon walked forward, into the next section. The pair of eyes appeared again, following them. "Don't worry. I'm coming for you."

* * *

**Midnight Forest, Sector 4**

"That last section was very easy!"

Cinder groaned. "This dungeon was being a troll. Having the next section directly to the right from the previous one! I can't believe we almost missed that!"

"I know! By the way, you're welcome."

Cinder angrily turned to Leon. "Shut up."

Leon put his hands on the back of his head. "You know, I'm really surprised. We didn't encounter any ferals, yet we're already halfway through the dungeon."

Cinder shushed the Totodile. "Don't jinx it!"

A rustling sound echoed in the distance. Cinder could hear the flapping of wings, coming from the direction they came from. The sound came faster and faster.

"Leon, get ready for battle."

Leon pushed the bag to the side, and dropped to all fours. "Ready."

Cinder also stood on both sets of limbs.

The flapping noise got louder. And louder. Cinder could feel the wind beat against his body.

Then came a screeching sound. A figure came into view, flying through the air, the wind flowing off its feathers. The bird stopped right in front of Cinder and Leon.

The bird towered over the two Pokemon, about twice of Cinder's size. Its body feathers were an olive color, and the head feathers were a bright gold. The tail feathers matched the head feathers, and the talons sparkled in a slightly darker gold. The beak matched the talons, and was curved and pointed. Black marks marked the edges of the bird's face, and the wings and belly were of a lighter shade of green than the rest of the body.

It was a Pidgeotto. But Cinder recognized that this Pidgeotto was not like others. This one was shiny.

The Pidgeotto landed on its talons, and lowered its head. It stared at Leon, who stared back at it.

Leon's stern frown turned into a smile. The Pidgeotto also smiled.

Leon got back up to his feet. "Aero?"

The Pidgeotto straightened its back. "Yeah, Leon. It's been a while."

Cinder shifted his gaze between the two of them. "You know him, Leon?"

"Yeah. Aero was a good friend of my mom."

Aero put his wing on the Totodile's shoulder. "I saw you come in. What are you doing here? I didn't think you'd come back here after what happened five years ago."

"Five years ago?" Cinder looked at the Pidgeotto, his eyes telling the bird that he wanted answers. He shifted his eyes to Leon. "What happened that would lead you to avoid this place?"

Aero looked down to the Cyndaquil. "Cyndaquil. What is your name?"

"Cinder." His flames flickered from green to red, angered that his questions were being avoided.

Leon stared at Cinder's flame, flabbergasted. "It just changed colors."

Aero also looked at the flame. "Yeah, that's not natural. Is it even healthy?"

Cinder looked at his flame. _No, not again!_ Cinder's thoughts overflowed with fear, and everything faded to black.

"What happened?!" Leon was blind. He thought he heard footsteps, and got into a fighting position. But his tension was relieved when the lights came back on.

But Cinder was gone. The only one there was Aero, holding a torch in his left talon. He somehow had the chance to use Cinder's fire to light it.

"Cinder! Cinder!" Leon ran around his immediate area, searching for his friend. "Where'd you go?"

"He's gone." Aero took off slightly into the air, looking forward. "I heard footsteps running in that direction. Maybe he ran ahead."

"Really?" Leon's face turned into one of despair. "The second time, I've been left alone in this forest."

Aero nudged Leon with his head. "Don't worry. I'm here. Let's go. He probably didn't go too far ahead."

The Pidgeotto handed Leon his bag. "I know the way. Just follow me, and we'll find him in no time."

Leon didn't cheer up like Aero expected. Instead, he was worried. _Please, Cinder. Please be alright. Don't leave me alone here. Not again._


	6. Chapter 5: Midnight Forest

**Midnight Forest, Sector 5**

"Aero, shouldn't we be worried about being attacked? Cinder told me that mystery dungeons were filled with ferals."

"Don't worry, Leon. I've been around here for a long time, and I've never seen any ferals. Just outlaws looking for a place to hide."

"Outlaws?! That makes things even worse!"

Silence suddenly filled the air. Aero flew over Leon, looking around for the lost Cyndaquil. The torch flickered, nearing the end of its life.

Leon frantically turned his head, ever vigilant to find his best friend. Aero calmly looked around as well, mostly focused on the path ahead of them.

Breaking the silence, Aero asked, "So Leon, what are you doing here? Paying your respects?"

Leon shook his head. "No, Aero, I'm not here to do that. You see, me and Cinder started a rescue team."

"Really? Just like your old man?"

Leon nodded. "Yeah."

_I never told Cinder, but that's the reason I wanted to join a rescue team. After dad went away and never came back, I thought, if I joined a rescue team, then I could go out to find him. But there's another reason why I'm doing this…_

Aero stared ahead, squinting his eyes. He said something, scattering Leon's thoughts. "There's something there."

Leon looked in the direction Aero looked, and saw a small figure, cuddled up in the middle of the road. As they approached the figure, Leon could see small clouds of smoke rising from the body's back.

"Cinder!" Leon rushed forward, prompting the Pidgeotto to hurry along with him.

The Cyndaquil looked up, surprised at the light that seemed to be growing ever larger with each second. He noticed Leon and Aero dashing towards him, and went back to curling himself up.

Leon shook Cinder's body, forcing him up. "Cinder! Are you okay? What happened?"

But the Cyndaquil only shivered.

Aero hovered over the Cyndaquil, looking down on the scared Pokemon. "Is there something wrong, Cyndaquil?"

Cinder slowly looked up to the Pidgeotto, distressed. He turned his gaze to Leon, who still worried over the Cyndaquil.

"You two saw it, didn't you?"

Aero turned his head. "Saw what? Your flames? What, is something wrong?"

Cinder got angry, and glared at Aero. "I promised I'd keep it a secret. And I intended to keep it a secret. If hat secret came out, and everyone knew... I'm afraid to think what would happen."

Leon patted Cinder's head. "What's 'it'?"

"This!" Cinder pointed to his back. "My flames! Didn't you see? They change colors!"

Aero put the torch on the floor, and rested his wings. "So? What's the matter?"

"It's not natural. It's not like other Cyndaquil." Cinder looked to his badge. "Dad has always told me that Pokemon are afraid of what's different. That's why…"

Aero put a wing on the Cyndaquil's back, trying to comfort the young Pokemon. "So what? It makes you unique, not a freak." Aero pointed his other wing at his own body. "See this? It's not like most Pidgeotto, but I never called myself a freak. In fact, I'm proud to be like this."

Cinder patted the Pidgeotto on the wing. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up."

Cinder extended his arms towards the bird's body. Both of Aero's wings wrapped around Cinder, the warmth making the Cyndaquil smile. "A friend of Leon is a friend of mine. And what are friends for?"

Leon poked Aero, and motioned to the torch. "You know, it's nice that you two are getting along and all, but we are kinda running out of light." The torch was barely burning, the flames seeming like they would extinguish themselves at any moment.

Aero let go of Cinder, and Cinder nodded. "Allow me."

Cinder slowly breathed in. _There is nothing to be scared of. My friends are here for me. I'm not going to get hurt._ Cinder's flames lighted from his back, this time burning a bright pink. Cinder shivered a bit, still shaking his fear away. "Is this okay?"

The two Pokemon that bore witness to the light stared deeply into Cinder's flames. "Why is it pink this time?" Leon asked.

Cinder sighed. "Well, they change colors, but the color they are depends on my mood."

"Your mood?" Leon looked at Cinder's face, unable to grasp the concept.

"Yeah. Red is anger, green is calm, black…is fear. Blue is sadness, yellow is joy, and—"

"Pink is love." Cinder turned to Aero, who stared at him.

"…Correct."

"Really?" Leon backed up a bit. He blushed. "I'm flattered, Cinder, but—"

"Love is very general, Leon." Aero turned to look at the Totodile, ready to give him a lecture. "Sure, one might feel love for one that they want to be with, but they can also have love for their friends and family."

Cinder glared at Leon, and spoke in an irritated tone. "What else would it be?"

The Totodile shrugged, and snickered. "Sorry."

Aero turned his face to the darkness. "We should continue. Wouldn't want the wind to catch us."

Cinder nodded. But Leon looked blankly, shocked at the Pidgeotto's words.

"Wait. The wind is real?" Leon turned to Cinder. "Sorry. I thought you were messing with me." He smiled.

But Cinder frowned. "You don't trust me, yet you trust Aero?" Cinder's flames flashed red, then blue. "Tells a lot about our friendship."

Leon panicked. "No, it's not like that, but—"

The flames switched back to green. "It's okay. After all, we just met two days ago, and you two have known each other for five years."

"Let's go." Aero took off into the air, flapping his wings shortly above Cinder and Leon. Cinder walked in front of Leon, providing light for the trio.

_Now that Cinder told me his secret… Should I tell him mine? No… It's too soon. And I'm sure that he wouldn't want anything to do with me afterwards..._

* * *

**Midnight Forest, Sector 6**

Laughter sounded from all around the trio. "Are you sure this place has no ferals here, Aero?" Cinder's flames almost turned black, but he managed to push the fear away, keeping them from blinding everyone.

Aero looked around, disturbed by the constant laughter. "I'm sure. I've never seen them around."

"Well then, who's laughing?" Leon looked around, trying to find the source of the voices.

"I don't know. But I'm sure when I say that there are no ferals around. I've been all around the forest, and have seen nothing."

"Well, if you saw nothing…" Cinder looked around. "And nothing attacked you, right?"

"Right. But occasionally, I'd experience some... strange feelings."

Leon's face looked as if he'd seen a ghost. "What do you mean by 'strange feelings'?"

"Well, it's like something is hitting me, but doesn't feel like anything. Sort of like... I'm invincible."

"Then that means—" Cinder interrupted his own thoughts. He stopped walking, prompting the others to stop as well. "No…"

"What?" The laughter became louder.

"Aero, you know that you're part Normal, right?"

"Of course. Why?"

Cinder's flames grew darker, almost to the point of complete darkness. "So? What doesn't affect Normals?"

The trio looked around, disturbed by the laughter. "You don't mean…" Terror leaked into Leon's face.

"There are ghosts among us."

The laughter mysteriously stopped. A strange wind replaced the noise, startling Leon.

"It's the wind! We're doomed!" Leon ducked down, trying to keep himself safe.

"Calm down, Leon. It's not the wind! It's just the ghosts, messing with our heads!"

Cinder looked forward. He sensed the distorted air in front of him. "It's either we fight, or we flee. Which option should we take, Leon?"

"What? Why me?"

Aero picked Leon up with one wing. "You're the one that's the most scared. It's natural to think you should decide."

Leon smiled. "I appreciate the thought, Cinder, but you decide. You're the leader. I'll follow what you say."

"Okay, then." Cinder welled up some flames in his mouth, and spewed little balls of it out of his mouth. The flames entered a couple of bushes, in the direction where the wind came from, and from it, a small ghost wearing a skull snapped into view. "We fight."

The ghost, angered, charged for the trio. "Duck!" Cinder yelled. The ghost flew directly overhead, and the trio got into their fighting positions. Cinder and Leon got down to all fours, while the Pidgeotto flew up, talons poised for attack.

Cinder looked between his two team mates. "The enemy is a Duskull. Be careful."

"Don't worry, Cinder. I'll be fine."

"Don't be cocky, Leon. This Duskull may not be big, but he may be strong. Don't underestimate your opponent's power."

"Don't worry, Aero. It'll be alright."

Aero sighed. "It's when you tell me not to worry when I start to worry the most."

Aero turned to face Cinder, but he disappeared. The flames on the bushes still burned, so the path wasn't completely dim. "Hey, where did he go?"

Leon looked to where Cinder was standing. He vanished! Leon bobbed his head, side to side, trying to spot his missing friend. "Cinder! Where are you?"

While Leon was distracted, the Duskull dived again, tackling Leon in the gut. "You'll pay for that." Leon blasted a stream of water at the Duskull, who fazed behind a tree, safe from Leon's attack. Leon charged for the ghost, but it floated upwards. He blasted more water at it, but it kept disappearing. "Where's Cinder?! I could use some help!"

Aero flew up to engage in aerial combat with the Duskull. His wing glowed, and turned a silver-ish color, and he pushed it into the ghost's body, but it only fazed through. The ghost descended, laughing.

Cinder jumped out of the bushes, unleashing his flames onto the unsuspecting ghost. Before it could react, it was engulfed in fire. The Duskull panicked, and ran away, all burnt.

Cinder stood straight up proudly. "There. Done."

Leon ran up to Cinder, angry. "Where were you?!"

"Hiding in the bushes. I figured you two would be able to distract the Duskull so I could launch a surprise attack on it."

Aero descended from the sky. "Cinder, if you had a plan, you need to communicate. We need to work together, or this forest will be the end of us."

Cinder nodded. "Right. Teamwork." He said those words with doubt, not knowing how to work well with others

Aero stared back the way they were headed. "Let's go."

Cinder and Leon followed Aero into the next section._ I still don't know about all of this. Leon seems nice, but something about him makes me feel uneasy. How can I learn to work with him if I can't even trust him?_

Leon stared into Cinder's flames, which burned a violet color. _What does _that _mean?_

* * *

**Midnight Forest, Sector 7**

"This is the final floor. The one the mission said the bow would be. Let's start searching."

Cinder, Leon, and Aero split up to look for a bow. Since the item was green, it blended in well with the environment.

The forest here seemed to have lit up a bit. Some sunlight shone through the trees, allowing the trio to see, finally. Cinder could finally clearly see the trees and grass. The trees were bent and twisted up, and the grass was brown and stiff.

Cinder extinguished his flames, relieved that he could finally be free from the fire. He looked around, looking for anything that didn't seem plantlike.

Cinder noticed Leon just staring at a tree. He walked up to Leon, curious. "What's wrong, Leon?"

"This tree…"

Cinder glanced at the tree Leon was looking at. There was a huge claw mark, halfway through the entire tree.

Aero swooped down, and saw the tree. He turned to Leon, whose eyes started to well up.

"Leon…"

Cinder looked between the two. "What? Is there something with this tree?"

Aero took Cinder in his wing and walked away. "This is the place… where Tory died."

"Who's Tory?"

Aero turned to Leon, who fell to the ground and grabbed his knees. "Tory is Leon's mom."

Cinder could hear Leon's cries from his position. "Mom…"

"…Let's find the bow, quick. So that Leon can get out of here as fast as he can."

Aero nodded. "That would be the best course of action."

Cinder and Aero accompanied each other as they searched the floor, leaving Leon alone.

"So, Aero, when did you first meet Leon?"

"Well…" Aero paused, trying to jog his memory. "I met him when he was just a little hatchling. His mom, Tory, had been a great friend of mine at the time, so I was happy for her when her little boy was born."

"So, Aero… Are you wild too?"

Aero chuckled. "No. Well, not at first, maybe. I was the neighbor of Tory and Leon, but left the city five years ago."

"…When Leon's mom passed away?"

"…Yes." Aero looked, depressed, to the ground. "After that, I couldn't stand to stay there. I took my most precious belongings and went off to the woods, secretly watching Leon from above. I'd always come back here, giving gifts to Leon's mom, wishing for the best for Leon."

Droplets of water almost formed in Cinder's eyes when he tripped. He fell to the ground, snout first. He got up, rubbing his snout. "What was that?"

Cinder looked to the ground, seeing a vine sticking out of the bushes. He picked it up, and showed Aero. It was not connected to anything, yet made both of them nervous.

Aero stared at the vine, and his eyes widened. "Let's go back to Leon."

"Let's go." Cinder and Aero ran backwards, rushing back to the Totodile.

* * *

Meanwhile, Leon was still on the ground, crying in front of the tree. He sniffled, and tried to speak. "Mom…I really miss you…but I think I'm fine now…I have Aero, and Cinder, so I'm not lonely anymore."

Leon pulled his rock out of the Treasure bag. "This is the only thing I have left of you. Even though it's not much, this still gives me comfort." He put the rock back into the bag. "I miss you mom, I really do. So please, watch over me." Leon got back up, and turned around.

* * *

A yell sounded in the distance. Cinder and Aero sped up, reaching the spot where they had left Leon. But the Totodile wasn't there anymore.

"Leon!" Cinder and Aero called out for Leon, searching for him. They scattered around the room, but could not find any trace of the croc.

"Aero, go up. You'll be able to see Leon better from up there."

"Understood." Aero took off, leaving Cinder to himself.

Cinder still had the vine in his hand. He examined it, still confused. "What is this from?" He poked the vine. It was a blue color, and the end was rounded. The vine seemed to be cut off, as the other end didn't seem cracked or burnt.

Another scream echoed in the forest. Cinder looked around, frantically searching for the source of the scream. He ran into the trees, hoping that Leon was in that direction.

To his horror, he was right. Leon was being held in the air by a tangled up ball of vines with feet. Cinder could see the eyes hidden in the vines, and it looked at him.

"Cinder! Get away! This isn't a feral!"

The creature stared straight into Cinder's eyes, its eyes filled with anger and annoyance. He threw Leon at Cinder, causing the two of them to fall on the ground.

"Go away."

Cinder and Leon got up, whispering among themselves. "Is that a wild?"

Leon shook his head. "He said he was an outlaw."

The creature extended multiple vines, raising Leon into the air again. "Leave now, and I'll spare your lives."

The creature's vines constricted Leon, causing him to scream in pain. "Help!"

Cinder unleashed a flurry of stars onto the creature, but they were deflected by one of the vines. That same vine reached out for and struck Cinder on the back of his head.

Cinder fell to the floor again and slightly looked up. His head spinning, he had to remind himself what the foe was. Tangela.

Cinder quickly got back up to his feet, and spouted stars all around him, each one flying away in a random direction.

The Tangela laughed. "What are you doing, trying to distract me?" He extended another vine, almost hitting Cinder again, but Leon was able to blow some water to knock it off course.

"You stupid…" The Tangela threw Leon back into the ground, almost knocking the consciousness out of the Totodile.

The Tangela was about to hurl a bunch of vines back to Leon, in an effort to knock him out, but a flurry of stars flew back, severing most of his vines. "What the?"

The creature stared at Cinder. "What was that?"

"Swift never misses its target, right?" More stars came back, crashing into the Tangela.

The Tangela fell back, shaking the pain away. "Why you little—"

His speech was disrupted by the sight of the Totodile rising back up to his feet. Leon's eyes turned a deep red, barely able to distinguish from the iris and the pupil. Blue energy erupted from his body.

Leon's Torrent activated.

But Cinder sensed something wrong. _Leon doesn't seem the same. In fact, he seems…_

Leon leapt from his position, towards the Tangela, his jaws open. His fangs formed ice from the vapor in the air, and he bit hard down on the Tangela. The Tangela cried, as his vines froze and crumbled due to the cold.

The Tangela fell to the side, fainting. Leon let go of his grasp on the Tangela, and turned to Cinder. His eyes still glowed red, and he slowly started walking towards Cinder.

"Leon… What're you…"

But Leon didn't listen. He still walked closer, his breathing unorderly. He growled slightly, the blue aura still present.

_Just like this morning_, Cinder realized.

Leon tilted his head up, water forming inside of his mouth. Cinder backed up slightly, knowing what Leon was doing. He hopped to the side as the Totodile straightened his head, and the water escaped Leon's mouth, barely hitting the Cyndaquil's arm.

"Leon! What are you doing! It's me, Cinder!" Cinder tried to call out for the Totodile, but his message was not heard. The Totodile sprayed another burst of water, forcing Cinder to jump to the side again.

"Wake up! Stop it, Leon!"

Cinder poured stars out of his mouth, and launched them at Leon. For each star, Leon took one of his arms and pushed them to the side, causing each of them to crash into a nearby tree.

The Totodile charged up another Water Gun, and ran closer to Cinder. The Cyndaquil tried to avoid the Totodile, but he tripped, causing him to fall to the ground. Leon stood above Cinder, ready to launch his Water Gun, but was hit by some kind of force.

Aero had swooped down and tackled Leon. Leon's body dragged on the ground, causing a large cloud of dust to rise into the air. The Totodile tried to get up, but fell back to the ground.

Aero took a talon and helped Cinder up to his feet. "What happened?"

Cinder shook his head. "I don't know. His Torrent activated, and then…" Cinder stared back to the unconscious Tangela. "He started going all violent. It's like he went…feral for a second."

Aero settled on the ground. _Not again…_

He walked over to Leon, and covered the croc with one of his talons. He picked him up into the air, and flew over to the Tangela. Cinder followed him.

"Who is this?"

"Leon said he was an outlaw. We should take him back to the city, but…"

Aero picked the Tangela up in his other talon. "I'll help you bring him back."

Cinder stared at the Tangela. Inside the mess of vines, something green stuck out. Cinder put his hands inside and pulled a green bow out. "We found it."

Aero smiled. "Use the badge. Let's get out as soon as we can."

"Okay. Badge, take us out of here." Cinder's badge glowed, and the four Pokemon were teleported out of the dungeon.

_I can't believe it happened again. Tory, I might need to have close watch over your son._

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Northeast Entrance**

Cinder saw a crowd of Pokemon in the distance. "Hey Aero, look!"

Aero flew up a bit higher. He saw many Pokemon, gathered around the town gates, waiting for the team's return. "It seems like we have a welcoming committee."

Cinder ran ahead, Aero speeding up to catch up with the small Pokemon.

"Welcome back!" The large crowd of Pokemon all shouted simultaneously.

Lily walked up to the front of the crowd, meeting Cinder and Aero. "So, how'd it go?"

Cinder held out the bow. "Here's the requested item. Now, whose is it?"

Lily giggled. "It's mine."

"Really?" Aero set down the unconscious Pokemon he had been carrying, and set himself down.

"Yep. I spared some details in the request, but a Tangela stole it from my house last night. I thought you two wouldn't take it if I put in all the details, so I… twisted the truth somewhat." Lily turned her head to the Pidgeotto, his feathers shining in the sunlight. "Who's this?"

Cinder turned to Aero. "Oh, this is Aero, an old friend of Leon's mom. Aero, this is Lily, the daughter of the mayor."

Aero bowed his head. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Lily's attention turned to the unconscious Pokemon. "That's the Tangela! And…Leon?! What happened?"

Cinder and Aero stared at each other. "Well, it's a long story, Lady Lily."

_Wow, Aero is really polite._

"…Never mind. Someone, take Leon to the hospital, and someone else get Officer Gary! The rest of you, please watch over them. I've got some business to take care of." Some of the Pokemon in the crowd scrambled to meet Lily's demands, and Lily used her vines to grab Cinder and Aero.

"I'll be back in a sec!" Lily dragged them to Pine Square. On the way, Aero and Cinder told Lily what happened in the Midnight Forest.

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Pine Square**

"Really? Leon attacked you?"

"Yeah, and on the same day he tried to eat me in his sleep."

Aero looked at Cinder. "He tried to eat you!? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I thought it was just because he wasn't having the best night. He said he had a nightmare."

Lily, Cinder, and Aero stood in front of the door to the team base. The town was bustling, the many Pokemon on the streets scrambling to return home after a long day of work. The sun had begun to set, and the skies turned orange.

"That sounds awful! Are you sure you're okay, Cinder?"

Cinder smiled. "Don't worry, I'm fine. But Leon…"

Cinder turned to Aero, who looked to the distance. "Leon should be alright. But I'm staying here just in case."

"You're staying?" Cinder's eyes shone, excited that they might have another team mate.

Aero nodded. "I'm staying right here. I'll always be here for Leon, especially since…" He trailed off in thought. "Anyways, do you have anywhere I could stay?"

"Well, there are eleven empty rooms in our base. You can have one of those."

"Thanks."

"Well, now that everything is done, and you gave me back my bow…" Lily took out a sack, and gave it to Cinder. "This is your reward. Thanks!" Lily bowed to the two Pokemon, and disappeared into the crowd.

Cinder opened the sack. Inside, there was 500 Poke, five Geo Pebbles, and an Oran Berry.

He closed the sack, and opened the door to the base. He turned back to Aero and moved his hand, telling the Pidgeotto to go inside. But Aero just stared at him, confused.

"Well? Aren't you coming in?"

Aero walked inside the door, and went up the stairs. "Thank you." Cinder followed.

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Team Palette Base**

Cinder showed Aero down the hall to the room across from his. "You can take this room. Is this okay?"

Aero examined the room. "Yes. This should be okay for now." He flew up onto the bed. "Don't take this as a request to join the team. I'm just here to watch over Leon for the time being."

"I know. But in the future, if we ask, will you join?"

"…" Aero fell silent, unsure of what to say. "Depends on the situation. But for now, I'm tired. Don't wake me until tomorrow, unless something happens."

Cinder closed the door, unpleased by the Pidgeotto's answer. He walked upstairs, and looked outside the window. The sunset still gave Cinder a warm feeling, like the world just disappeared and he felt at peace, able to think without any distractions or worries.

While staring at the sun, he realized something: Leon still had their bag. He remembered it hanging from Leon's shoulder as Aero carried him back to the city.

Cinder ran down the stairs, out of the base, and made his way to the hospital, wherever that was.

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Oak Square**

"The hospital is just down this street."

"Thanks, Mr. Nidorino." Cinder bowed in gratitude.

"Please, no need to bow." The Nidorino returned to his business, and Cinder ran down the street.

Cinder stopped in front of the hospital. The building was large and white, with a red cross on top of the entrance.

Cinder entered the door. Inside, a mess of Pokemon were scattered, some sick, some injured, some rushing to care for others. Walking past the chaos, Cinder went up to the front desk.

There, an Audino sat on a chair, managing the medical reports. She steered her eyes to the Cyndaquil standing in front of the desk, and smiled. "Welcome! Are you in need of assistance, or are you visiting?"

"Um, visiting."

"Who?"

"My friend, a Totodile. He should have been brought in earlier…"

The Audino took a folder out. She scanned through the list, consisting of the names and species of the Pokemon that were checked in, and each Pokemon on the list was given an ID, room number, and status report.

"Ah yes, Totodile. Leon, right?"

"Yeah."

"…Sorry, the doctors aren't allowing anyone to see him." The Audino closed the folder, and put it away.

"But you don't understand. I need to see him."

"Why?"

Cinder paused. "…He has our team bag. I need that."

"Team bag? Oh, you two are part of that new rescue team that's been circulating around town." The Audino got up from her seat, and walked into a hallway. She came back shortly, holding the Treasure Bag. "Here you go. This fell off when he was brought in, so I kept it in storage."

Cinder grabbed the bag, searching through the contents. "Everything's here." He raised his head back to the Audino. "Thanks. And please, tell him I said hi."

The Audino nodded. "Bye. Come back soon!"

Cinder left the hospital and returned home. He reflected on his words in the hospital and realized: he didn't seem to be concerned at all about Leon, but just about the bag. _I'm a terrible friend. I need get better at this._

* * *

**Evergreen Ridge, Team Palette Base**

Cinder entered the base's living room. The window was still wide open, and the light disappeared from the sky. He hung the bag on a hook sticking out of the wall next to the board.

Cinder looked outside the winder. The stars shined bright in the sky. He gazed at them, mesmerized by their simple shines.

That's when Cinder saw something. A figure, flying right towards him. It was Pelipper, ready to update the board.

The Pelipper, ignoring Cinder's presence, flew up to the board, and stuck two pieces of paper on it. He then departed.

Cinder walked up to the board and read the papers. The first one was a letter from Mayor Bloom, congratulating them for their first job being a success.

The second paper was a search and arrest mission. It was from Officer Gary himself, and the setting was Softstone Cavern, which Cinder identified as not too far to the west from Evergreen Ridge on the map.

_Dear Team Palette, there has been a kidnapping. A Cubone child has suddenly gone missing, and the mother Marowak panicked. We would be pleased if you decided to help us apprehend this criminal and rescue this child._

_Client: Officer Gary_

_Location: Softstone Cavern_

_Rank: B_

_Reward: 2000 Poke_

Cinder blankly stared at the request. _Should I go on a mission alone? Leon's in the hospital… I should wait until he comes out._

…_But then again, this Cubone really needs some help._ _I guess I'm going to find Cubone tomorrow with Officer Gary._

Cinder yawned. He took one of the Apples in the bag and munched on it as he descended down the stairs. _I completely forgot about eating while in that forest! Luckily, that didn't kill us._

He walked into his room, and sat on his bed. He looked down to the spot where Leon had slept the night before. _I hope he's alright._

"Off." The torches in the base turned off, and Cinder put his whole body on the mattress, ready to go to bed.

* * *

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. That Totodile is dangerous. He shouldn't be a rescuer."

"Why?"

"Because he's one of _them_."

"What?! Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure! He has the thing! Either he needs to leave, or we are in big trouble."

"…Call HAPPI. Let's hear what they have to say."

"Got it."

"…I never thought I'd have to see someone with the Nightmare again…"


	7. Chapter 6: Outlaw

"You're here."

"Yep."

"Where's the Totodile?"

"In the hospital. Something happened, but the doctors wouldn't let me see him."

"Uh-huh."

Cinder and Officer Gary met in front of the mayor's house. The sun peeked over the eastern mountains. Cinder held the team bag, all stuffed with the supplies from the previous day, including some things from Lily. Officer Gary had his own bag too, packed with his own supplies.

The morning breeze felt pleasant for the young Cyndaquil. It was soft, and cooling on the summer day.

"So, Gary, where's the mom? Didn't she say she's coming with us?"

"No, Cinder. She's not. Instead, we're waiting for someone else."

"Who?"

The house's door opened. The mayor and his daughter stepped outside.

"Welcome, officer, Cinder." Bloom bowed his head. "Thanks for taking up this serious request."

"No problem, sir." Gary bowed his head in respect.

Bloom turned to Cinder. "Where's your friend?"

Lily tugged on her father's flower. "I told you, he's still in the hospital. The doctors refuse to tell us what's wrong with him, and they're just keeping him there. I doubt he even needs to be there anymore."

"Is that right?" Bloom turned back to Cinder. "Well, I'll have a talk with the doctors later. Anyways, I wish the three of you luck on your mission today."

"The three of us?" Cinder asked.

Lily snickered, and Gary smiled. Lily put her Viridian Bow, the same one she had lost the day before, below her buds. "Didn't Officer Gary tell you? I'm coming with."

Cinder looked concernedly at the Goodra. "Is it okay for her to be coming? After all, this was put down as an A ranked mission."

"Don't worry, she can handle herself. Besides, she would have found a way to join even if I kept telling her no."

"Yep. So you're stuck with me, Cinder!"

Cinder groaned. "Alright. Let's get this over with."

Cinder, Lily, and Officer Gary marched off to the northern entrance of the city. "Stay safe!" they heard Bloom shout.

**Evergreen Fields**

The fields to the north of the city were endless. The grass stretched for miles, no significant landmarks to help anyone navigate their way except for the rising sun and the straight and narrow path.

Officer Gary took the lead, leading the trio to the Softstone Cavern. He seemed to know the way by heart, not needing a map to tell where he was.

"How much supplies did you pack, Cinder?"

Cinder rummaged through his bag, seeing only five Oran Berries, three Pecha Berries, and one Apple. The Geo Pebbles were in another pocket, and the Poke lied in the bottom of the bag.

"…Not much. Probably only enough for myself."

The dragon sighed. He took his bag and dropped it in Cinder's hands, and Cinder came crashing down due to the sheer weight of the bag. "Look in there."

Gary and Lily stopped moving to let Cinder search through the bag. Inside, there were ten Apples, thirteen Oran Berries, fifteen of a variety of other berries, three Reviver Seeds, three Max Elixirs, and a total of ten seeds, divided evenly between two kinds, Sleep and Stun.

Lily peered into the bag, and gasped. "This is a lot of stuff! How can you even hold this?!"

Officer Gary chuckled. "This is how a properly prepared bag should look. Remember that, kid."

Cinder sheepishly turned his head away. "Well, ours would be like that, if we had the money…"

"And that's why you do missions." The Goodra closed his bag and picked it up. "Also, remember to increase your arm strength. With more supplies, your bag is bound to get heavier."

"I know, I know." Cinder picked himself and his bag up. He walked ahead, past both Lily and Gary. "Let's keep going."

The three moved on through the field, slowly but surely turning west towards the destination. Lily breathed heavily, unable to keep up with Officer Gary's pace.

Cinder watched the sky up above. It was notably higher in the sky than when they left. "I thought this cave was just to the west."

The Goodra chuckled. "It is. Just across the water, so we have to walk around the ocean."

Lily frowned. "Why didn't we just take a boat? That would have been much easier than this."

Officer Gary glared at the Chikorita. "That would not be an appropriate use of resources. We could walk there ourselves, so we don't need to waste the money to get to our destination." The Goodra looked up into the sky. "By the way, what was the phrase? 'The adventure is in the journey, not the destination'?"

Lily groaned. "Fine. I get it."

"I should've noticed the water in the way when looking at the map," Cinder whispered to himself.

The three walked into a regular forest. The light shone through the trees, which casted shadows on the travelers. _The shade feels really nice_, Cinder thought.

The forest hike did not last long, though. They emerged out of the comfort of the shade and back out into the sun. But Cinder didn't mind, instead choosing to marvel at the view in front of him.

The Goodra looked around. "This should be a good spot to rest." He put his bag down, and sat next to a tree.

"This _is_ a good place to rest." Cinder looked ahead. A long, ever extending cliff lined the land, and he saw the sparkling sea right in front of him. He felt the nice, cool ocean breeze brush against his body, and felt invigorated.

Cinder walked up to the cliff, and sat down.

"Catch." The Goodra took an Apple out of his bag and threw it at the Cyndaquil, who quickly caught it. Cinder looked at the Goodra with bewildered eyes. "We need to preserve our energy to capture the outlaw and take the Cubone back home, don't we?"

The officer gave an Apple to Lily, and took one out for himself. They all bit into their Apples, making sure to savor each bite. They would need the energy to move on.

Lily, with her Apple in her vines, approached the cliff, where Cinder sat. She sat down right next to him. "So, Cinder, where's Aero? Didn't he stay with you last night?"

"He's not officially part of the team. I let him sleep in, and left him a note saying where I am. He's probably going to the hospital now, trying to check up on Leon."

"That's nice." Lily took another bite of her Apple, thinking about what to say to the Cyndaquil. "So, Cinder, tell me about yourself. Where did you come from? How's your family?"

Cinder cringed when Lily mentioned the word "family". He didn't feel like talking about it. It was too soon.

"Well… I came from the Great Safari." Cinder took a bite of his Apple, looking at the astonished Chikorita.

"That's really far away! It must've been one heck of a journey, especially with the many mystery dungeons filling the space between here and that place."

"No, actually it didn't take as much time as you'd think." _Mainly since the ocean carried me here_.

Lily slouched back. "You know, I always wanted to visit faraway places. But my dad always told me that it's too dangerous for a kid like me to be walking around unprotected."

"Is that why you wanted to come with us?"

"Of course! Not only did I want to help the Cubone, but I wanted to leave the city. You know, leave the nest, even if it's for a quick moment."

Cinder bit into the last bite of his Apple. "Well, why don't you tell your dad that? I'm sure he thinks you're very responsible."

Lily stared into her Apple. The only part left was the core, the center of the Apple. "I don't know. He always has an eye on me, making sure that I don't get into any trouble. One time, I accidentally angered a huge Nidoking, and a police officer immediately took me away and got beat up by the large beast himself!"

She threw the apple core into the ocean. "He doesn't think I'm ready for that kind of freedom."

Cinder watched the core go far out into the ocean before disappearing from sight. "Well, why don't you just tell him? At least he'll know what you want."

"Maybe… But I don't know." Lily got up, and looked back to Officer Gary. He moved his hand in a way that told them to get up. "Let's go, Cinder. We can talk more later."

"Okay." Cinder picked his bag up and followed the two down the coastline.

The group traveled for miles, with Lily needing a short break every now and again. Eventually, Officer Gary put the Chikorita on his back, and carried her the rest of the way.

"I'm okay, Gary. I just need to get used to this."

"Well you'd better." He sighed. "Anyways, we're almost there. Just a little bit farther."

"Is that it?" Cinder pointed ahead, to a gaping hole in the side of the cliff they stood on.

Officer Gary put a hand over his eyes, blocking the sun from interfering with his vision. "We're here." He grabbed Cinder and jumped down the cliff. He then put the two Pokemon on the ground, relieving his back from the extra weight.

The trio walked towards the entrance to the cave. The air felt a little moist, the ground soft with cool, wet sand.

"Time to go in." Officer Gary took the lead, with Lily following him, and Cinder taking the back.

**Softstone Cavern, Basement 1**

"This cave is ten floors, so remember to not use up many supplies, kids."

"We'll be careful. Right, Lily?"

"Right. I'll try not to get in you guys' ways."

"Okay then." The cave, though damp, was surprisingly well lit. Waterfalls lined the walls, leaving little streams flowing through the cavern's floors. For the larger rivers, there were natural stone bridges that carried Pokemon above the water. The overall direction the floor seemed to be headed was down, as the path they tread on was slanted downwards.

Cinder nudged Lily's back. "So, Lily, is this your first time in a mystery dungeon?"

"Yes," she bluntly replied. "But I know the dangers, so I'll be okay. I read it in a book."

"Are you sure? Because experiencing it is very different than reading about it."

"Relax! I've got this covered. Look." Lily pointed her leaf ahead to a sleeping Zubat on the ceiling. "I bet I can take that out, easy."

Officer Gary butt his way into the conversation. "Don't even try. We don't want to make any unnecessary troubles for ourselves."

Lily put her leaf down. "Sorry."

Officer Gary glanced over to the left. Something caught his eye, and he steered his group over to the left.

The stairs were right in front of them. Unlike the ones in Sinister Woods, these stairs spiraled downwards.

"The first of nine." Officer Gary started down the staircase. "Come on. Let's go."

Cinder and Lily followed him down to the next basement floor.

_When am I going to get the chance to prove myself?_ Lily thought to herself.

**Softstone Cavern, Basement 2**

"What happened to the stairs?!" Lily gazed at the spot where the stairs used to be.

"Lily, it's okay, stuff like this happens in mystery dungeons."

"But they just vanished into thin air! How is that possible?"

"Just pretend it is, Lily. Even I don't know why."

The trio continued down the cave. The damp air was starting to get to Cinder a bit, but Gary didn't seem to mind. Lily seemed neutral about it, so Cinder decided to keep it to himself.

As they traversed downwards, a loud roar echoed, making the stalagmites and stalactites shudder.

"I know that sound." Gary backed away to make sure Cinder and Lily were safely behind him. "That's an Onix."

From below them, a large rock snake burrowed upwards. The snake was large, even more than twenty times of Gary's height.

"Cinder, back away! You're the most vulnerable!"

"Got it!" Cinder ran backwards, far from the Onix. Gary prepared himself for a fight, tossing his bag in the direction of Cinder. "Lily, get back."

"No. I can fight too!" Lily stabilized her footing, waving her leaf from side to side.

"I can't allow that, Lily. You have no experience, and this Onix seems battle hardened."

Lily glared at the Goodra. "I'll show you that I am strong too!" Lily darted towards the Onix, ignoring Gary's warning. The Goodra was forced to go after her, his strategy compromised.

The Onix spotted Lily running towards it, and roared. The sound almost knocked Lily off her feet, but she stood, ever vigilant. She waved her leaf, and multiple other leaves appeared from it, hurled in the direction of the snake. The snake recoiled at impact, but recovered quickly.

"What? I thought Grass works on Rock!"

Gary ran to Lily's side. "It does. But this Onix might need more than a simple Razor Leaf to be taken down."

"Alright, then." Lily's leaf glowed. "How about this!" She waved it again, this time letting glowing leaves out to attack the Onix's weak points. The Onix shrugged off the damage, and roared, stomping its tail on the ground.

"Earthquake! Duck, Lily!"

Gary grabbed Lily in his hands and ran for cover. The stalactites fell from the ceiling, and Gary was able to avoid each one. But before he could notice, the Onix slammed its tail into the dragon, knocking him into a nearby wall.

As he was flying through the air, Gary positioned himself so that he shielded Lily with his body. "Are you okay, kid?" he asked after impact.

Lily nodded. "I'm fine."

"Good…" The Goodra put her down, and faced the Onix.

He breathed in slowly, absorbing the energy around him. He blew out a line of ice, aimed directly at the Onix's head. The Onix froze where it stood, completely harmless in its cell of ice.

Gary returned his breathing to normal, looking back to where he had seen Cinder ran. "Now, let's go." Cinder came out of his hiding place, dragging Gary's bag along. The Goodra glared at Lily. "Maybe it _was_ a mistake to bring you."

Lily felt as though a million spikes penetrated her heart. Her head fell slightly downwards, discouraged by Gary's words.

Cinder nudged Lily. "Come on. Let's move on."

"Okay." Lily still hung her head low, not wanting to look at the Goodra in front of her.

"You know, I thought it was brave of you, trying to battle the Onix on your own." Cinder smiled, but his efforts did not cheer the Chikorita up.

Gary turned his head back to the two kids. _Let's get this over with so we can go._

**Softstone Cavern, Basement 4**

"Steelix!" Gary cried, stumbling backwards, shocked by the iron snake's sudden appearance.

"I've got it!" Cinder quickly lit his fire, a bright scarlet, and unleashed his flames of wrath onto the snake. It fell quickly, and Cinder instantly put his fire out, with help from the damp cave air.

"Thanks, Cinder," The Goodra said as he tipped his hat.

"No problem." Cinder looked over to Lily, who was unfazed by the events that just occurred. She still stared at the ground, depressed.

"Anyways, the stairs are right there. Let's go." Gary walked towards the stairs, oblivious to the fact that Cinder and Lily didn't follow him.

Instead, Cinder walked behind Lily, trying to push her still body to the stairs. But Lily refused to move. "Come on, Lily. You have to move."

"Why should I?" Lily spoke, without the enthusiasm she had before.

"Because we don't want to leave you."

"Why not? I'm just extra luggage, right?"

Cinder spun Lily around to stare deeply into her eyes. "No. No, you're not."

Tears started to steam down her cheeks. "Yes I am!" she yelled, letting go of her previous monotone voice. "I forced myself onto this mission! And I can't do anything! You and Gary are the ones to push us ahead, and I'm just here, being a hindrance."

"You're not a hindrance. Look, I know you might feel powerless, but that's not bad. You just have to keep improving yourself, no matter what happens."

"Are you sure? You think… I can become better?"

Cinder nodded. "Anyone can keep improving. Just think about it. If the most famous explorers didn't believe they could, then where would they be? Not in the history books, that's for sure."

Lily's smile came back to her face. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Cinder." She walked ahead, towards the stairs. "I'll just have to remember that. 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.'"

Cinder grinned. "Just keep thinking that, and you'll show Gary that bringing you wasn't a mistake."

Cinder and Lily darted to catch up to the officer, who was waiting at the stairs. He glared at the kids, his eyes stone cold. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, Gary. Just some idle chatter."

The Goodra shook his head. "Come on, kids. You know that Cubone is in danger. Try to take this seriously, okay?"

"Okay." Cinder and Lily answered simultaneously.

**Softstone Cavern, Basement 9**

"I can't believe you, Lily! First the Onix, then the Graveler, and the Quagsire, and now the Golem! What am I supposed to do with you?"

"How about tell me I did good! I took out the last two really well!"

"But Lily, that Golem exploded himself. You should be lucky Gary grabbed you before you got engulfed in the blast."

"That doesn't matter! I still beat him!"

"And you did waste one of our Reviver Seeds on that Quagsire."

"He snuck up on me! That coward!"

The dragon moaned. "You should be more careful, Lily! You wouldn't imagine what your dad would do to me if you got hurt!"

The trio ventured deeper into the cave. "The stairs are right here. Let's rest." Officer Gary put his bag down, and glared at Lily. "Look, I know you're trying, but please, don't push it."

"Sorry! I'm trying, really!" She extended a vine and started stroking her leaf, as if to relief it of pain. It was burnt from the explosion of the Golem she fought.

"Here." Cinder threw an Oran Berry to Lily. "This'll help you heal faster."

Lily munched on the Oran Berry. "I'm sorry for putting you two through all of this."

Cinder ruffled through Gary's bag, looking for an Apple to eat. "It's okay. I know you want to show how brave and strong you are."

"Thanks, Cinder. Gary?"

Officer Gary gazed at the Chikorita with half-awake eyes. The effects of the mystery dungeon were starting to get to him. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to show you that I could be brave too." Lily slumped to the floor, her eyes full of sadness.

Officer Gary let out a sigh, and moved over to sit next to the Chikorita. "I forgive you. But don't be reckless. Being reckless is not the same as being brave. It's being stupid. Bravery is not proving how much power you have, or showing that you have no fear. It's about confronting your fear, not letting it get in the way."

Gary looked to the ceiling of the cave. Water droplets fell down, gently. "Someone who has true bravery is someone who will gladly risk their life to help another in genuine danger. Like, for example, that situation with that Golem. I risked getting hurt pretty badly to save you, Lily. And that Steelix. Cinder showed that he's brave by taking that Steelix down when I was caught off guard."

He paused to look at the Chikorita. "See, kid, courage is not about fearlessness, but about the strength of your heart and will."

Gary rubbed his hand on Lily's forehead. "Which is what you have a lot of."

"How would you—"

"Ask all the Pokemon in Evergreen Ridge. They know the good deeds you've done for them. The strength of your heart manifests in those deeds you did for them.

"Your dad doesn't know what he's keeping from the world. A strong, responsible girl that would do anything to make it a better place."

A tear ran down Lily's cheek. "Thanks, Gary." She embraced the slimy dragon, not thinking about the slime that covered her body afterwards.

After the hug, Officer Gary cleared his throat. "Alright, let's go. The Cubone should be right below us."

"Right." Cinder and Lily got up, ready to descend down the staircase.

The Goodra picked his bag up from the ground. "Let's do this."

As Gary and Lily walked down the stairs, Cinder stood, unmoving. He watched the two disappear into the next floor, knowing that he should follow or else he'll get lost.

…_I'm…brave?_

**Softstone Cavern, Basement 10**

"Alright, kids, follow my lead."

A lone cottage stood in the room, near the edge of a huge cliff, where a huge waterfall crashing down to the water below can be viewed. Through a small window on the side of the cottage, Officer Gary could see a crying Cubone sitting down inside a jail cell. Next to the cell, a Mr. Mime sat, watching him.

Gary ducked down under the window. "Okay, kids, how will we do this?"

Lily flapped her leaf excitedly. "I know! We burst in, grab the Cubone, and take the Mr. Mime down, easy!"

Cinder shook his head. "That'll never work. We need to consider the Mr. Mime's strength. For all we know, he could be even stronger than Gary." He turned to Officer Gary. "We probably need to break out the seeds if we're going to do this right."

Officer Gary smiled. "That's the way, rescuer. Now, here's the plan…"

* * *

"Wah!" The Cubone sat in his cell, wailing. "I want my mommy!"

The Mr. Mime got up from his seat, annoyed. "Shut up, kid! She's not coming for you!"

"You're wrong!" The Cubone, his eyes full of tears, pointed his bone to the Mr. Mime. "My mommy's coming for me! Just wait and see! She'll come bursting through that door to give you the beating of your life!"

"Pipe down!" The Mr. Mime's hands glowed, and he lifted the Cubone up with psychic energy. He shook the Cubone up and down in an attempt to stop his whining. "No one is coming to get you! There's no way they would be able to find us!"

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." The Mr. Mime, surprised, turned to the door, where Officer Gary stood. The Goodra took out his police badge. "Chief Officer Gary, of the Evergreen Ridge police force. I suggest you give back the kid and come quietly, for your own good."

The Mr. Mime smiled. "Oh look, the police. I'm _so _scared!" He motioned his hand, taunting the dragon that stood in the doorway.

Officer Gary took a deep breath. Energy charged up in his mouth, and he let out a ball of pure energy. The ball broke into a beam, consisting of red and blue hues.

The beam aimed itself at the Mr. Mime, who didn't budge. He let the beam hit him, and he came out, unscathed.

"What?!"

"Dragon type moves don't work on Fairies." The Mr. Mime retaliated, unleashing a beam of pure psychic energy from his cupped hands, hitting Gary in the forehead. The blast blew him backwards, out of the doorway, off the cliff, into the waters below.

The Mr. Mime marched out, and saw no signs of the dragon left. He stood at the edge of the cliff, confident that his attack took the life of the officer. He sat down there, sure that no one else would disturb him and his captive.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cinder and Lily snuck into the cottage, Cinder with both bags. They silently opened the cell, freeing the Cubone.

The Cubone shivered, scared that he was about to be taken away again. "What are you here for?"

Lily extended a vine, and caressed the Cubone. "Don't worry. You're safe now." She put him securely on her back.

Cinder took the one remaining Apple out of his bag. He handed it to the Cubone. "Here. Are you hungry?"

The Cubone took the Apple, and bit into it. "Thanks, mister!"

"Don't thank us yet. Not until we get out of here."

Cinder led Lily to the exit, and each of them stood behind the wall, making sure the Mr. Mime didn't see them. Cinder turned his head to peer outside the door, and the Mr. Mime still sat there, looking down the cliff.

"Go!" Cinder motioned for Lily to take the Cubone to a safe place. She quickly followed, making sure that they didn't make any noise to alert the Mr. Mime. They escaped to a nearby rock, making sure that they were out of the Mr. Mime's view.

The Mr. Mime got up and started back towards the cottage. A look of confidence was painted on his face. As he walked into the door, he noticed something was wrong.

"What?!" He bolted out, frantically looking for the missing Cubone child.

The Cubone held on tight to Lily, eyes almost leaking tears. "Are we going to be okay?"

"Don't worry." Lily stroked the Cubone's back with her leaf. "Everything's going to be fine."

"I know you're there!" The Mr. Mime yelled in the direction of the rock they hid behind. "Come out! I'm Psychic, not stupid!"

Cinder peeked over the rock. "Stay here. I'll go." He put the officer's bag down, and started to walk away.

But the Cubone grabbed his bag, which still hung from his shoulder. He stared at Cinder with wide, sad eyes. "No, don't go, he warned. "He took the policeman out, just imagine what he'll do to you."

"I'll be fine," Cinder replied. "I can handle myself."

Cinder walked into the outlaw's view. He stood in front of him, confident.

The Mr. Mime laughed. "Kid, what are you doing here? Playing hero?"

Cinder pointed to his badge on the Pecha Scarf he still wore. "I'm a rescuer. Now, stand down, outlaw, or else."

"Or else what?" The Mr. Mime charged up energy in his palms, trying to intimidate the Cyndaquil.

"Or else someone's gonna get hurt." Cinder leered at the Mr. Mime.

The Mr. Mime held his hands up, gathering magical leaves above his head. "Well, then. It was nice knowing you, rescuer." He threw his hands down, pushing the leaves towards Cinder's position.

Cinder unleashed a stream of stars to match each leaf, cancelling the attack. A cloud of smoke appeared where they collided, blinding both sides of the other's whereabouts.

The smoke covered the battlefield. Cinder looked around, trying to sense the Mr. Mime's location. Then a flurry of leaves shot out from the smoke. Cinder couldn't react in time, and he was sent flying backwards, into the stalagmites behind him.

The Mr. Mime used his powers to clear the smoke, and glared at Cinder. "It's over." He charged up his palms again, this time condensing the energy into another beam of psychic power. He held his hands out, ready to cast another Psybeam. "Take this!"

The beam struck the Cyndaquil, blasting him through the rocks, stumbling to the ground. Cinder struggled to get back to his feet, his anger almost getting the better of him.

"Oh?" The Mr. Mime walked towards Cinder. "You still get up? Don't you know when to quit, kid?" He held his mouth open, laughing at his victory.

Cinder fell back to the ground, too hurt to go on. He turned to the direction of Lily and the Cubone. Lily poked many of her vines into one of the bags, showing Cinder that she was coming. One word escaped his mouth.

"Now!"

Lily jumped out of her hiding place, and unleashed her many vines at the Mr. Mime, each of them holding a seed from Gary's bag. Each of them pushed towards the outlaw's mouth, but the Pokemon kept dodging the vines. Lily flung the seeds at his mouth, and one managed to land inside his mouth: a Stun Seed.

The Mr. Mime fell to the ground, paralyzed. Lily ran over to Cinder's side, holding an Oran Berry in her leaf. She fed him the berry, and helped him up. The pair looked over to the Mr. Mime, who struggled with the paralysis.

"You! Where'd you come from?"

Lily gathered the remaining seeds with her vines. "Sneak attack. Gary's plan did work."

"Of course it did, Lily." Water flowed up the cliff, onto the ground next to the Mr. Mime. A Goodra materialized from the liquid, and handcuffed the outlaw. "You're under arrest, mime."

The Cubone stuck his head over the rock. He let out a cheer, and came out of hiding, slowly dragging Gary's bag with him. "You did it!"

Lily met the Cubone halfway, rubbing his head with a vine. "Of course we did." She took a couple of vines to take the bag from the Cubone.

Officer Gary pushed the Mr. Mime towards Cinder. "Come on, let's use that badge of yours to get out of here."

Everyone gathered around Cinder, anticipating their departure from the cave. "Sure. Badge, take us out of here." A shining light surrounded the five of them, and teleported them out of the dungeon.

**Middle of the Sea**

"It's very lucky that the Mr. Mime had a boat!" Cinder held his head high, proud that he had successfully captured his first outlaw.

The Cubone child leaned over the edge, amazed at the sight of seawater right next to him. The boat suddenly shook, catching the Cubone off balance. "Ah! I almost fell off!"

"Don't worry, Cubone. You're safe, just don't lean over the edge."

"I can't believe the four of you, taking what's not yours."

Gary laughed. "Speak for yourself, kidnapper!"

Officer Gary operated the rowboat, back to Evergreen Ridge. The sun still hung high in the sky, despite the amount of time they spent in the cave.

"Are we there yet?" The Cubone jumped up and down, excited to return home. His movements rocked the boat somewhat, disorienting the other four Pokemon on board.

The Mr. Mime snapped at the Cubone. "Stop it, or you'll turn the whole boat upside down!"

Lily put a vine around the Cubone, stopping him from moving too much. "Don't worry, we'll be there soon. Just be patient."

"Okay."

"By the way, nice work, Lily," Gary congratulated. Lily shifted her attention to the officer, who looked backwards, watching the land shrink away. "We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

The Chikorita blushed. "Stop it. It was your plan, Gary."

"Yeah, but you made it work. I'm proud of you, kid. And you too, Cinder." The Goodra glanced at the two of them, smiling.

Cinder looked to the side, watching the Wingull fly in the clear skies above the calm waters. His face turned grim, full of sadness.

Lily poked him with a vine, worried. "What's wrong?"

"The more I stare out in the sea, the more I think about my dad." Cinder looked down to the waters right next to the boat.

"How is your dad?" the child asked.

"…He's not here anymore."

The rest of the boat fell silent, and remained that way until they reached the city again.

**Evergreen Ridge, Great Tree District**

"I'll take the outlaw to the office, and the child back to his mom. You two have fun with the rest of the day."

Officer Gary waved goodbye, taking the Mr. Mime and Cubone with him.

"Bye, mister! Bye, miss! Thank you!" The Cubone waved goodbye to Cinder and Lily, and followed the officer.

From far away, Gary threw a bag at Cinder. Cinder caught and opened it. The promised money sat inside, and Cinder put it in his bag.

"So, Lily, what will you do now?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I planned for this to take the whole day, not just the morning."

"I'm going home," Cinder yawned. "I'll figure out what to do later. For now, I think I'll take a rest. Bye, Lily. See you later." Cinder waved a hand, and started to walk away.

"Hey, wait." Lily reached a vine in front if Cinder, preventing him from walking away. "I have a question for you."

"What?" Cinder faced the Chikorita, who retracted her vine.

"If my dad allows it…" Lily fumbled around with her leaf. "Can I join your rescue team?"

"Are you sure? It won't be easy."

"If it were easy, then I wouldn't bother." She looked up to the sun, her eyes sparkling. "I…don't want to just stay here, living a life that doesn't feel fulfilling. No, I want to go out and make a difference in the world, just like Gary said. I want to change the world for the better. I can't do that here, holed up in a wall erected by my overprotective father.

"So please." Lily directed her focus back to Cinder. "Let me join. I promise I'll do my best, and follow your orders, and whatever! I just want to help, in any way that I can."

Cinder scratched his head, not knowing what to do, what to say. "Well…" He saw the Chikorita's pleading eyes, unable to say no. "Fine," he told her. "But only if it's okay with your dad."

Lily squealed. "Really? I'll go ask right now! I'll meet you back at the base!" She ran off, back to her house.

He walked back to the base, through the busy streets. It was lunch rush, but Cinder didn't feel hungry. Instead, he felt a little queasy, thinking about their potential new member.

…_Did I just make a huge mistake?_


	8. Chapter 7: The Tour

**Evergreen Ridge, Team Palette Base**

Cinder stood in the living room, leaning next to the window. He looked out, figuring out what he should do for the rest of the day.

He walked down into the hallway. He opened Aero's door, and found the bird had gone out. _Maybe he went to check on Leon._

**Knock knock.**

Cinder heard a knocking coming from the bottom door.

He walked downstairs and opened the door. It was Lily, who huffed and smiled. It was obvious that she had just sprinted over from her house. He stepped outside to talk with her, knowing she had something important to say.

"Guess what?" Her leaf twirled around, her face ecstatic.

Cinder didn't reply. He already knew what she was excited for.

"I convinced my father to say yes!" She squealed, startling some of the surrounding Pokemon. They stared at her, confused.

Cinder blushed with embarrassment. "Let's go inside. They're staring at us."

Lily looked around to the surrounding Pokemon. "Sorry. Let's go." She and Cinder scrambled back into the base.

They withdrew into the living room.

"So, is there anything you'd like to say to me, Cinder?"

Cinder struggled to find the right words. He felt glad that Lily was joining their team, but also frightened due to the thought of having yet another team member learn of his secret.

"Uh… Congrats?" he shrugged. He then faked a friendly smile.

"Thanks… So." Lily leaned closer to Cinder. Cinder noticed she wanted something, but couldn't find whatever she wanted in his mind. "Do I get a badge?"

"Oh, right! Sorry." Cinder ran towards the box full of badges. He had left it in the corner of the room, next to the board, due to having no place to store it. He picked a badge up, and ran back to Lily. "Here."

Lily took the badge in her vines. She looked at it, pride sparkling in her eyes. Lacking anywhere else to put it, she stuck her badge on her back, covered by her leaf.

Lily gestured over to the box in the corner. "Shouldn't you store that somewhere safe?"

"I would, but I don't know where."

Lily grabbed the box with her vines, and started down the stairs. "Follow me."

Cinder followed Lily down the stairs, out into Pine Square.

**Evergreen Ridge, Pine Square**

By the time he got to the door, Lily was already out of his sights.

"Over here!" Lily waved her leaf to signal Cinder in her direction. She stood outside a building with a sign depicting a Kangaskhan and her child.

She ran inside, prompting Cinder to follow.

She stood at the counter, talking to the Kangaskhan. She noticed Cinder walk into the building and moved a vine back and forth to welcome him. "Oh, Auntie Kangaskhan. This is my friend, Cinder."

Cinder awkwardly waved at the Kangaskhan behind the counter.

"Cinder, this is Auntie Kangaskhan. She runs the storage here."

The Kangaskhan raised her hand. "Nice to meet you, Cinder." Her voice was motherly and kind. "So you desire to start an account here?"

Cinder walked up to the counter. "Yes, I guess." He glanced a bit over to Lily, annoyed that she dragged him over here suddenly.

The Kangaskhan smiled. "Okay, here." She handed a contract to Cinder. "Just fill this out, and you'll be eligible to start an account with us." She frowned. "We haven't had much business here. I started this to help rescue teams, but the only ones to sign up here were Team Quakers and Team Starlight, but…"

"Who's Team Starlight?"

"The team before you." A little Nidoran walked into the room, holding a picture frame with a Nidoking picture inside. "The team that stayed in your house one year before you came into town."

Lily got up from her seat and stood next to the Nidoran . "This is Joey, Auntie Kangaskhan's son."

Joey glared angrily at Cinder. "You'll never be as good as them."

Auntie Kangaskhan glared at her child. "Stop it, Joey."

"It's true." Joey left the group, returning to his room.

The Kangaskhan sighed. "Sorry about Joey. He just misses his dad." She looked to the room Joey walked into. "His dad was the leader of Team Starlight, Neo the Nidoking. He could take down legions of outlaws with no problems at all. Last year, something happened far away, I think in the Cape Legend area across the sea. His team left to take care of some problem, but never returned."

"Really?" Cinder listened to the story, feeling sympathy for the little Nidoran , having lost his own father earlier too. He remembered the sign outside the door, with the Kangaskhan and her Kanga child. "Hey, Auntie Kangaskhan, where's your child?"

The Kangaskhan looked with confusion at Cinder, but then figured out what he meant. "Oh, little Kou! Yeah, she's off at the Evergreen Academy. Joey would go too, but he refused to go to school."

"Oh, okay." Cinder went back to the contract. He read the entirety of the paper, which basically states that his stuff is going to be properly protected, and not much else. He signed where he was told to sign, and handed the paper back to Auntie Kangaskhan.

The Kangaskhan scanned over the contract. "Thank you. Whenever you need to store something, don't hesitate to come. We're open while the sun is out. Goodbye!"

She waved to Cinder and Lily, who left shortly after handing the form to the storage keeper.

"By the way, Cinder. Have you gotten a good look at the town?"

Cinder stopped in front of Lily and shook his head. "No. Why, are you going to show me around?"

Lily giggled. "Well, what else are we going to do?"

Cinder blushed. "I guess not much."

"Okay, well, first things first." Lily turned around. "This is the storage. But you knew that already. Just keep this place in mind, because your most important stuff will be stored here."

"Got it."

Lily turned around, looking at the general store in front of the storage. "This is Kecleon's Wares. Let's go inside, okay?"

Lily opened the door, and the pair entered. The store was crowded with customers, looking at the supplies that lined the walls. On one side, there were berries and food, and even some articles of clothing, like scarves and bows. On the other, wonder orbs and discs lined the walls, and attracted fewer customers than the other side.

"Welcome to our shop!" Two Kecleon shouted from the back of the shop, behind a counter. One of them was green, the typical color of a Kecleon, and the other was purple.

"Those two are Kep and Ion. They run this place." Lily waved back to the Kecleon, and walked up to the counter with Cinder.

The green Kecleon waved. "Oh, is that you, Lily?"

"Is this your boyfriend?" the purple Kecleon asked with a smug smile.

Both Cinder's and Lily's cheeks turned bright red. Cinder's flames almost lit up, his anger almost getting the better of him.

"What are you talking about?" Lily draped her leaf over her face, trying to mask her embarrassment.

"We're not dating!" Cinder's shout caught the attention of everyone in the store. He looked around, humiliated.

"Sorry, kids." The purple Kecleon closed his eyes, apologetically. "Anyways, you seem new in town. I'm Ion, and this is my brother, Kep."

The green Kecleon bowed. "Nice to meet you…"

"Cinder," The Cyndaquil replied. "Cinder, the leader of Team Palette."

"Oh! That new rescue team!" Ion rummaged through his papers behind the counter and pulled the poster honoring the formation of Team Palette out. He stared at the poster. "Where's that Totodile friend you have? Is he…"

Lily answered before Cinder could. "The Totodile, Leon, is in the hospital right now."

Kep put his hands on his cheeks. "Really? Oh, how horrible! Are you okay, Cinder?"

The three of them turned to Cinder, who felt uncomfortable. "I'm okay. He'll be fine, I know it. He just got bumped in the head, but I don't understand what's taking those doctors so long."

"Maybe he has a life threatening disease?" Kep insensitively blurted out loud.

His brother followed. "Maybe that injury caused him to have a special condition that requires constant medical support?"

"Or maybe he was abducted by aliens?"

"Or possibly the equipment failed, and he's dying a slow and painful death?"

"Shut up!" Cinder, once again, attracted the attention of the Pokemon around him. "Let's go, Lily."

"Okay, Cinder." Lily started for the door, but turned back to the Kecleon. "It was nice to see you again!"

Kep waved goodbye. "Take care, Lily! By the way, good luck on your adventures!"

The Chikorita tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

Ion pointed to her leaf. "I saw your team badge behind the leaf. Don't try denying it! Anyways, good luck!"

"Got it!" Lily ran out the shop, following Cinder.

**Evergreen Ridge, Northern Residential Area**

"Those Kecleon…"

"Don't worry, Cinder. They were just messing with you."

"So where are we going now?"

"To the Majesty Gardens. You can see them from the base, but it's not the same as experiencing them up close."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think it's the most romantic spot in town. I love to wander around, sniffing the flowers. But that might just be me being a Grass type."

"Sounds nice."

"Yeah." Lily paused, imagining the sights. "It really is."

Cinder peered into the horizon. "That's it, right?" He pointed to a large gate, with a Tropius security guard standing in front.

"That's it!" Lily ran forward, excited to show Cinder the gardens, and Cinder followed.

They stopped right in front of the Tropius, who looked down and smiled. "Well, Lily, welcome back!" It turned to Cinder. "Is this your—"

"I'm not her boyfriend." Cinder grumbled, thinking that everyone assumed that he was Lily's boyfriend.

The Tropius smiled. "I was going to just say friend, but okay." He cleared his throat. "I'm Tropic. I protect the Majesty Gardens from intruders."

Cinder nodded his head. "I'm Cinder, leader of Team Palette. Nice to meet you, Tropic."

"Oh, that new rescue team? Well, it's an honor." Tropic bowed to Cinder, who felt uncomfortable with the gesture.

Lily raised her leaf, revealing her team badge. "I'm also part of that team now!"

"Oh, really?" The Tropius lowered his head to look at Lily's badge. "That's great!" He closed his eyes and smiled.

He opened the gates to the gardens. "I believe you came here to show Cinder around the gardens, right Lily?"

"Thanks, Tropic!" Lily bowed her head to the giant plant bird. She then pushed Cinder into the gardens, eager to show him around.

**Evergreen Ridge, Majestic Gardens**

"Look!" Lily had extended her vines, showing all the plants that she considered beautiful to Cinder. Cinder looked at each one, marveling at their beauty.

Some of the plants had unique patterns, some with unparalleled colors compared to others.

"That's a marigold. And that's a daisy." Lily whipped her vines around, pointing to every flower she could, telling Cinder of its name and beauty.

They spent the rest of the day looking around, like tourists. Cinder was reminded of his dad, who would do similar things with him like this.

The two wandered around the garden for hours. Near the end of their visit, Lily showed Cinder to a waterfall. It wasn't very tall, but calm and peaceful, giving a sense of relaxation to the area. They stood on top of a bridge, over the river created by the waterfall.

Lily stuck her vine out to a flower floating on the river's surface. "That's a water lily. It's my mom's favorite." Lily suddenly became silent despite her excitement.

Cinder turned to face Lily. She was looking at the lily in the water, under the moonlight.

"Hey, Lily, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just… Have you ever lost someone really close to you?"

Cinder looked down into the water. His reflection rippled in the flowing water, the water shining with the moonlight.

"Yeah. Just a couple days ago, actually."

Lily turned to face Cinder. "Really? I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." Cinder sighed. "Why do you ask?"

Lily's face became one full of anguish. "Well, shortly after I hatched, my mom got really sick. My dad tried his best to get her better, but she…"

Lily looked down at her bow. "She died. This, and a necklace I left at home, is all I have left of her."

Cinder continued to stare down at his reflection. "At least you have something left." He fumbled around with his badge. "I have nothing left from my dad…"

Lily put her vine around Cinder. "I'm sorry for bringing this up."

"No… it's okay. Sorry about your mom."

"Yeah… I don't really remember her, but my dad always told me she was really strong, very smart, and super kind. From the stories he told me of her, I always wanted to be like her. That's why I wanted to join your team. That's why I wanted to show I'm strong."

"Lily… You are your own person. You can't expect to be just like your mom."

"I know… But that doesn't change anything." Lily glimpsed at the moon above. "The more I try to help others, the more I realize… This is what I'm meant to do. A life helping others is a life that I would be proud of."

Cinder stood closer to Lily. "Well, then… As long as you believe you are where you belong, then I'll support you all the way."

"Thanks Cinder. Thanks for letting me on your team, and letting me talk to you about this." Lily kissed Cinder on the cheek, which became a rose-red. "You are a good friend."

Lily walked back the way they came, to the entrance of the garden. "Meet me at the entrance. I want to go see if Leon is available right now." She left Cinder, all alone under the stars.

_Lily knows where she thinks she belongs… And that makes me happy. But… Where do I belong?_ Cinder shook his head, trying to push the thought out of his head. _No. Thinking about that will only make me think about… Anyways, I should go meet Lily._

Cinder rubbed his cheek, the cheek that Lily kissed. _…She called me a good friend. Is that true?_

**Evergreen Ridge, Hospital**

"Let's see, Leon… Ah, yes, he's available now."

Cinder's expression lit up. "Really?"

"Yep. He's upstairs, in the first door to the left."

"Thanks, Audino."

Cinder and Lily darted up the stairs and entered the room the Audino told them Leon was in.

Leon was sitting up in a bed, reading a piece of paper, a blanket over his legs. Aero was also in the room, perched right next to Leon, talking to the Totodile.

Aero looked up to greet Cinder and Lily. "Hey Leon, Cinder's here."

Leon looked at the doorway, where the pair stood. He turned away, his face ridden with guilt.

Cinder waved from the door. "Hey."

Lily ran over to Leon, worried. "Leon! Are you okay? Is there anything wrong with him?"

"No, the doctors just examined him. After all, he is a wild, and they wanted to make sure that he was up to the normal health standards of a typical Totodile." Aero gave Lily a piece of paper. "This is the report. From what I see, he's perfectly normal. But they want to perform some more tests before letting him go, so he has to stay a while longer."

Lily scanned over the report, and sighed with relief. "That's good."

Cinder walked over to Leon's bed, and peeked at the paper he held. On it, there was one word, written in footprint script: "Hi".

Leon stared at the paper, trying to read it. "Does it say… 'Hj'?"

Aero laughed after hearing Leon pronounce that word. "No, it says 'Hi'."

Leon hit his leg with his hand, all tensed up into a fist. "Dang it, so close!"

"Don't worry, Leon. This kind of thing comes with time and practice."

Leon noticed Cinder standing next to him, but didn't say anything. _This is odd_, Cinder thought. _I thought Leon would be happy to see me._

"So, how was your day, Lily?"

"Well, me, Cinder, and Gary went to capture an outlaw."

Leon glanced over at Cinder and immediately looked back to Lily. "Really? That's great!"

"And guess what?"

"What?"

Lily moved her leaf, showing Leon her team badge. "Cinder let me join the team."

"Wonderful!" Leon almost jumped out of his bed. He turned over to Cinder, but didn't say a word.

Cinder was getting bothered by Leon, who refused to talk to him. "Hey, Leon, aren't you going to say anything to me?"

Leon panicked, not knowing what to say to Cinder. "Um… Hi?" _That's it? I can't even say anything else, like "Sorry" or "How was your day"?_

"That's it? Hi? Not 'Nice to see you again' or 'Sorry I tried to kill you twice yesterday'?"

Lily grabbed Cinder with her vines and picked him up. She dragged him out into the hall. "Don't be rude. You know he's still here, in the hospital."

"Sorry. It's just that… Leon seems like he doesn't want me around."

"Don't say that. You're Leon's first friend. He's probably guilty about yesterday." Lily went back into the door. "Don't push."

Cinder also reentered the room, looking at Leon. Leon stumbled with his words. "Um… Aero, Lily, can you leave? I want to talk to Cinder alone."

"Sure, Leon." Aero got up, and walked out.

Lily walked back out the door, whispering something in Cinder's ear. "Don't push."

Leon turned to Cinder. "So, uh, Cinder, how are you?"

"I'm fine."

Leon played around with his hands. His head was tilted down, looking at his hands. "Sorry about yesterday. I couldn't control myself, and I don't really know what happened."

Cinder walked up to Leon's bed. "Don't worry, Leon."

"Phew. That's a load off my chest." Leon slouched back in his bed, relieved that he was forgiven. "But there's something on my mind."

"What?"

Leon stared at the ceiling, thinking. "What if… it happens again?"

Cinder thought about it for a bit. "I don't know. Knock you out again, I guess."

"Thanks, that feels really great, coming from a friend." Cinder got annoyed by Leon's sarcastic tone, but forgave the Totodile.

"Don't worry. If you're that bothered about it, we'll find out what's wrong." Cinder smiled, and Leon smiled back. "Until then, I guess we have to knock you out as soon as possible."

"Thanks, Cinder. You're a good friend." _That's threatening to kill me when I go out of control. But that's okay… I'd do the same thing for him._

"Thanks, Leon." Cinder looked outside. It was almost pitch black, other than the lights from the buildings outside. "Look, I have to go. Gotta check the requests before going to bed." Cinder walked to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll be right here." Leon waved goodbye to Cinder, who stopped at the door.

"…You know, Leon. I—" Cinder paused, trying to find the right words to say. "I'm happy that we became friends."

"Me too."

Cinder left the room, closing the door behind him. After a couple of seconds, the door opened again, with Aero and Lily coming back inside.

Lily looked back, seeing Cinder walk away. "So, where's Cinder going?"

"Back to the base."

"Really?" Lily looked outside as well. "Oh, I guess it_ is_ getting pretty late. I'd better go, too. See ya, Leon! Get well soon!" Lily ran out the door, hoping to catch up to Cinder outside.

Aero sat down next to Leon. Leon looked at the bird, concerned. "Aero, you should be going too. You can come back tomorrow, nothing will happen to me."

"If you wish." Aero jumped down onto the floor and walked towards the door. "Remember, review what I taught you today."

Leon waved his hand, telling Aero to go away. "I know, I know. Bye Aero."

"Goodnight, Leon." Aero closed the door with his beak. He exited the hospital and flew back to the base.

**Evergreen Ridge, Team Palette Base**

"Okay, Auntie Kangaskhan has everything we stored in here, besides Leon's bag."

"Thanks, Lily. By the way, there were no new requests on the board, so we have another free day tomorrow."

"Really? Then I guess I'll have to show you more of the city, then." Lily snickered. "And I have the perfect place to show you."

"What?"

"It's not really a big thing here, but I think this place will be useful for us rescuers."

"What? A link shop?"

"Nope. Just wait for tomorrow to find out."

Cinder and Lily were sitting together in the living room. They were eating a late dinner they bought from Kecleon's Wares. It was really just a couple of Apples, but it would be enough to satisfy their stomachs.

Aero flew in through the window, seeing the two Pokemon eat.

Cinder turned and saw the bird fly in. "Hey, Aero. Want some food? I'm sure we can spare another Apple."

"No, it's fine. I'm going to sleep." Aero flew down the stairs, being careful not to bump his wings on the walls.

"By the way, which room do I stay in?"

Cinder stopped chewing on his Apple and looked up at Lily. "You're not going home?"

"Do I have to? I know you have plenty of rooms here, so I thought I should stay here. You know, so that you don't have to come and get me every day."

"Well, if you want, you can stay in any empty room, besides the huge one. The only taken ones are the ones at the end."

"Thanks." Lily picked her body up and started down the stairs. "I'll finish my Apple in my room, then go to sleep. Goodnight!"

"Night!" Cinder turned his head to the window, and gazed at the stars in the skies. _These stars… I don't know why, but I enjoy just looking at them. _He finished his Apple and threw the remains outside, then closed the window, ready to sleep.

Cinder went down the stairs. When he entered the hallway, he didn't see Lily. _She must've chosen a room already._ Cinder went down to his room, and plopped down on his bed. Again, he stared at the bag on the floor. _I hope Leon is doing alright. When will the doctors let him leave?_

**Evergreen Ridge, Great Tree District**

"Come on, Cinder! It's just down this street!"

"Coming!"

Lily led Cinder to a medium sized building, with a large blue sphere on the roof. A couple of Fighting types, like Poliwrath and Breloom, stood outside, waiting for it to open. The sun hadn't even come out yet, and Lily was wide awake, while Cinder was dead tired.

"We're here!"

Cinder's vision was still blurred, so he had to rub his eyes. He read the sign in front of the building.

_Evolution Dojo_

_Strengthen your Body and Soul_

"A dojo?" Cinder yawned. "Why are we here?"

"I thought we could get in some practice." Lily spun her leaf, pretending to throw some leaves. "I come here very often. I think we can use the practice, especially with what happened with the Mr. Mime."

Cinder was angered by the Chikorita's words. "Hey, I had to distract him. I didn't even show him my full power."

"And what would your full power look like?" A figure emerged from inside the building. His head was canine-like in appearance, with four black strands falling from the back of its head. Two of them were longer than the other two, and the ends were crimson. The head and thighs were blue with black streaks, and the arms and legs were black and red. Spikes protruded from the shoulders and chest, and the figure had a large, bushy tail.

Cinder recognized the figure was a Lucario, but did not recognize the differing features. _Was this a mutation of some sort?_

The figure looked down above the Cyndaquil. "Well? Would you like to show me your full power?"

Cinder didn't answer. Instead, he asked his own question. "What are you?"

The figure smiled. "I'm a Lucario. Can't you tell?" The Lucario spun his body slowly, letting the Cyndaquil see all the parts of his body.

"No. There's a distinct difference between you and most Lucario."

The Fighting types in front of the dojo walked inside, impatient. Lily stayed behind Cinder, trying to get the Cyndaquil's point.

The Lucario smiled. "It seems that you have met some Lucario before."

"I've seen a lot of Pokemon. But none like you."

"That's because this is an unlocked power, hidden deeply in the hearts of certain Pokemon. It's something that humans call 'Mega Evolution'. However, we Pokemon prefer to call it 'The Gift', because only certain Pokemon can use it."

Cinder poked the Lucario's body. "Really? Did it hurt? Is it permanent?"

"Yes, it's permanent, but it doesn't hurt. It's just like regular evolution, but I suppose you never experienced that before, Cyndaquil."

Lily waved her leaf in front of the Lucario. "Master Anubis, do you remember me?"

The Lucario bent down and looked into Lily's eyes. "Oh, Lily, you're back. Is this—"

A star blew across the Lucario's face. Cinder glared at him, annoyed. "We're not a couple!"

Lily put her leaf in front of her face. "Sorry, Master Anubis. Some Pokemon yesterday accused us of dating, so—"

"It's okay, Lily." The Lucario approached the Cyndaquil and squatted down, leveling his head with Cinder's. "What's your name?"

"Cinder."

"Alright, Cinder. Now that I answered your question…" The Lucario stood up, and walked into the dojo. "Would you like to accept my challenge?"

Cinder cringed at the offer. _I'm not going to fight him… Then I'd have to face _that_ again._ "…Nah." Cinder turned away from the dojo. "I'd prefer to spend my day… somewhere else."

Lily frowned. "But wouldn't we need the practice if we're going to be rescuing people?"

"I'm good!" Cinder started walking down the street they came through. "You have fun, Lily!"

The Lucario watched the Cyndaquil stroll down the street. "…Is he usually like that?"

Lily shook her head. "I thought for sure that he'd be on board for this, but I guess not." Lily walked into the door. "Anyways, Master Anubis, will you train me? I want some general tips for fighting ferals."

The Lucario's eyes widened. "Really? Ferals?" Lily nodded. "Hmm… Okay, I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, master." Lily and Anubis walked into the dojo, beginning their training.


End file.
